Building the ArcelorMittal Orbit slide will cost £3.5million, it was revealed today.

David Goldstone, the chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, told the London Assembly’s regeneration committee that it was “a pretty significant new addition to the park”.

“We are really excited about the impact this will have on people coming,” he said.

“What we’re talking about here is the world’s longest enclosed slide.

“It’s about £3.5 million in total. But, if you think of 200,000 coming a year the charge will be around £5 per head.”

Mr Goldstone confirmed that the slide was on schedule to open in the spring and a launch date should be announced soon.

Despite the cost of the slide, and the fact the steel sculpture lost £520,000 in its first year, he said it should not take too long to be making a profit.

“In terms of covering the cost, five financial years on, we expect the Orbit, including the slide, to be making an overall surplus,” he said.

“This was always anticipated to be a long journey, we are transforming an area that was in desperate need of investment.

“It’s still early days in that journey to establish the park and the venues as a popular visitor attraction and the world class venues we anticipate.”

The tourist attraction is not the only loss-maker in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with the Copper Box and the London Aquatics Centre are currently losing in excess of £640,000 between them a year.

“Getting them to the break even basis, that’s absolutely an aspiration we are working towards,” said Mr Goldstone.

“There are costs we are tackling, and in terms of maximising revenue, some of it’s about visitor numbers, some of it’s about pricing, it’s also looking at measures to maximise other revenues.”

He added that one-off events, such as the recent boxing match, and hiring out parts of the venues for meetings would bring about additional funding.

Despite the financial struggles, the park has seen more than eight million visitors since it opened to the public in April 2014.