PARIS, France (AFP) — The organisers of the Paris Olympics took possession of the newly built athletes’ village on Thursday on schedule, reinforcing growing confidence that they will be ready for the Games.

At an inauguration ceremony in northern Paris, chief organiser Tony Estanguet received a symbolic key for the complex in front of VIPs including President Emmanuel Macron.

The roughly 40 low-rise tower blocks will house around 14,000 people over the course of the Olympics, which kick off on July 26, and another 9,000 during the Paralympics afterwards.

The handover target of March 1 for the crucial piece of Olympics infrastructure was exceeded by a day, with all sides keen to stress that the construction work was finished on time and only marginally over budget.

“It’s a demonstration that we have honoured our commitments,” Macron told reporters after meeting workers who he said should be “proud” of taking part in what he called “the adventure of a century”.

The village was a major test of whether the Paris Games could avoid the pitfalls of past editions.

Wasteful over-spending, rushed construction work and extravagant “white elephant” infrastructure projects have consistently tarnished the reputation of the Olympics.

Concerns about climate change have also led activists to target the enormous carbon footprint of an event that brings together athletes and spectators from across the world every four years.

Paris organisers see themselves as promoting a new “sober” model, with a focus on using existing or temporary sporting infrastructure, as well as promoting recycling, re-use and innovative low-carbon technologies.

“We’ve made a village that’s a showcase, but also a manifesto of what we know how to do best in France today in response to the major questions posed for urbanisation in the 21st century,” Olympics infrastructure chief Nicolas Ferrand told Macron.

The village is the single biggest new-build Olympics project, located on a site by the river Seine that is a focus for regeneration efforts in the economically deprived Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis.

During the Games, it will include a 24-hour restaurant, an alcohol-free bar, as well as training facilities.

Afterwards, around a third of the 2,800 apartments will be sold off to private homeowners, while a third is destined for public housing, and the rest for rentals, including for students.