THE £16bn Crossrail development has been given the go-ahead after businesses agreed to plug the funding gap.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a deal today where Crossrail will be funded equally by the Government, the private sector and borrowing against future fare revenue.

Companies providing funding include the City of London Corporation, which governs the City of London, property company the Canary Wharf Group and airport operator BAA.

A breakdown of the funding is due to be announced on Tuesday in the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Crossrail route will go from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west across the capital into Essex and Kent in the east.

It will travel underground through the city centre between Paddington and east London.

Mr Brown said: "I believe this is a project of enormous importance not just for London but for the whole country."

Woolwich was initially dropped from the network, but a U-turn in March following a News Shopper campaign gave the go-ahead for the station to be included.

The proposed station will be built on land between Plumstead Road, the Royal Carriage Factory and the IO Centre.

President of the South East London Chamber of Commerce Steve Nelson has welcomed the news.

He said: "It's a really great chance for the redevelopment of Woolwich and completes the transport hub it's become.

"It also gives the workforce access to Canary Wharf, where there could be another 100,000 jobs in the future.

"In terms of inward investment it just makes the whole area more attractive for companies."

Construction on the project, which was first proposed in 1989, will begin in 2010, with trains operational by 2017.