Russia’s newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak toured Sochi 2014’s facilities last week, the first working visit in his new role. Included in his inspection was the Sochi 2014 mountain venue cluster in the Krasnaya Polyana and the coastal cluster in Imeretinskaya Valley.
According to a press release, in his new post created by the Russian Government, Kozak “will be dedicated to the delivery of Russia’s first Winter Games”.
Kozak said during the inspection that to ensure all facilities are developed on schedule it is critical to create an efficient system of decision-making and help investors to overcome “bureaucratic” barriers. Kozak noted that to keep up the strong pace of development, it is important to finalize all land issues by the end of 2008. He reconfirmed that the Russian Government guarantees to buy land at full market, not speculative prices, and secure the rights of landowners.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014 said, “several important steps have been made recently to enhance the progress of Sochi 2014. One of them is the creation of a non-profit organization Olympic Transport Authority (OTA) which is very important at this stage of Games development. The structure will supervise traffic flows around Sochi while Games construction is underway to optimize the effectiveness of our logistics system.
“After the Games this infrastructure will help in the future development of the region for the benefit of millions of Russians and visitors. Our Olympic park will become a centre of business and cultural life in the region. Infrastructure sites such as the cargo port, which is important for our supply chain, will become a Marina port so we can host a world yachting show. Put simply, Sochi will become an all-year round resort with the Olympic Games as its catalyst.”
