A news agency reported Tuesday the economic crisis has hit preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. There is a lack of interest from Russian firms bidding for projects, and local authorities are now extending tender deadlines.
There is also difficulty in acquiring the land necessary for construction of Olympic infrastructure because owners were refusing to sell at prices offered by the government, according to the Prime-TASS news agency.
Russian has also cut its budget for the 2014 Games by 15 per cent, Deputy Prime Ministry Dmitry Kozak has said.
The BBC reports Kozak said an assessment of construction projects found it would be possible to save about $8.3 billion, according to the Interfax news agency.
The 2009 budget is expected to show its first deficit in about a decade.
Kozak said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Tuesday an assessment of projects for the construction of sports facilities for the 2014 Games had identified a possible 300-bn roubles in savings. As an example he said the assessment found that the cost of four of the venues had been overestimated by 7.5 bn. roubles or $208 million.
According to Interfax he said, “we have budgeted the cost of these facilities with a 15 per cent reduction”.
Putin also said that construction costs were decreasing as a result of a recent drop in the cost of materials.
Meanwhile Salzburg Austria, which lost its bid to Sochi for the 2014 Games, said in November it was still prepared to host the Games if Russia was unable to complete its construction projects on time.
