Interfax reported last week that according to Regional Development Minister Dmitry Kozak, Russia’s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games may be affected by the global financial crisis and require the state to provide more money for the event.
Kozak said, “it could have an impact. It all depends on the financial well-being of the investors we have attracted”.
He said no investors have yet pulled out of construction projects for the Games. “If (delays) do occur, we will have to look for other investors or use budget funds. There is no other choice”.
According to the Moscow Times the government has pledged $12 billion on developing Sochi for the Games, -$7 million in public funding and the rest from private sources.
Sochi reportedly has little infrastructure and about 80 per cent of the venues have to be built from scratch.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told a meeting of government officials in September that no setbacks in preparing for the Games would be tolerated, reports the Moscow Times.
Earlier in the year Jean Claude Killy, chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission, said preparations for the Sochi Games would be the most challenging ever.
