MPs have accused organisers of the London Olympics of being "willing to spend money like water".

The Commons culture, media and sport committee said the eventual cost of the 2012 Games must come within the £9.3bn budget.

The original estimate for the event was £3.4bn.

The committee's report, published on Wednesday, said: "Although it is not surprising that early assessments underestimated the final costs, such a radical revision of cost estimates has been damaging to confidence in the management of the overall programme.

"It has also exposed the government and Games organisers to the charge that the initial bid was kept low in order to win public support."

The report said there was "much to commend" in what organisers had achieved so far, and said significant steps had been taken to put the Games on a sound financial footing.

But MPs were critical of plans for the Aquatic Centre, which is now set to cost £303m - up from an estimate of £73m at the time of the bid in 2004.

"The concept of the Aquatics Centre might be spectacular and eye-catching, but it appears to be over-designed and will be an expensive way of providing the facilities for water sports needed during and after the Games," the report said.

"In our opinion, the history of the Aquatic Centre shows a risible approach to cost control and that the Games organisers seem to be willing to spend money like water."

With more than £3bn, or 60 per cent of the total budget, built in as a contingency, the report said any additional requests for funds would be a "major failure of cost control".

The committee also expressed concern that £1.8bn could be recouped from land sales given the downturn in property prices.