Report: Sochi 2014 budget triples to $33 billion

The Associated Press

MOSCOW — A Russian business newspaper says the 2014 Sochi Olympics budget will be more than $33 billion, nearly triple the original estimate.

The newspaper Vedomosti, citing documents from the Ministry for Regional Development, reported Tuesday about $23 billion would come from the federal budget, with the rest to come from private investors.

The ministry declined immediate comment. But the president of Sochi' organizing committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, said in a statement Tuesday that the cost is estimated at only about one-fifth of the figure.

"The projected budget for construction of Olympic-related projects, including Sochi 2014 sports venues and related infrastructure, remains about 200 billion rubles as previously stated by authorities," Chernyshenko said. "The final cost of Olympic venues will be confirmed when all contractors are selected. This will happen by the end of the year."

Almost all the arenas and other venues have to be built from scratch and the plan also requires complex infrastructure projects including construction of a light-rail line. The route will snake up the rugged Caucasus mountains to connect the snow sports venues with the ice sports arenas being built on the Black Sea coast.

Russia was awash in oil revenues when it won the bid in 2007, but the national economy has suffered with the plunge in oil prices over the past year and other effects of the global economic downturn.

Initial estimates of the games construction costs were around $12 billion, but officials this year reduced the projections sharply, claiming they had found significant ways to economize. In July, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak estimated the total cost at $6.25 billion, with slightly more than half that amount coming from the national coffers.

However, the state news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday quoted Deputy Finance Minister Alexander Novak as saying $7.6 billion from the national budget would be spent next year alone for the Sochi Games construction.

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September 30, 2009 04:21 PM EDT

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