(ATR) Sochi 2014 deny any "impropriety" in the delivery of infrastructure for the Games following reports of massive cost overruns.
Russian media reports quoted Sergei Pavlenko, head of Russia's Federal Service of Financial and Budget Oversight, as saying that contractors have overpriced Games infrastructure costs.
He said the anticipated cost of the Olympics could reach $18 billion, suggesting the government lacked accurate oversight of spending on the fast-track Olympic construction project in Sochi.
"Realistically, none of this is being monitored in any way, by any one," he was quoted by DPA.
But a Sochi 2014 spokeswoman claimed that Pavlenko's comments were not specifically in reference to Olympic construction "but rather the overall construction and infrastructure work across Russia reviewed by his department".
"We are not aware of any impropriety, with all delivery subject to rigorous third party audits," she told Around the Rings.
"Sochi 2014 is a national priority project and, as a result, we are extremely transparent about the budget for the Games.
"The budget for Sochi 2014 is clear and robust, with open and transparent reporting in place."
Olympicorganizers said the sporting infrastructure for the Games in the Black Sea resort accounts for 20 per cent of the total developments in Sochi, the Krasnodar region and across Russia that are taking place as a result of the Games.
Sochi 2014 underlined that there are two separate budgets for the Games.
The projected cost for Olympic venues and infrastructure is put at $6 billion; the operating budget to staging the Games is S$1.8 billion.
But the building budget appears to be an extremely low estimation, given that so many venues, roads, tunnels and other infrastructure are being built from scratch.
"Sochi is the biggest construction site in the world now," Sochi 2014 president and CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko told reporters at a briefing in Durban two weeks ago.
"We are running more than 150 construction sites. We are building more than 370 kilometers of new roads, 200 kilometers of railways and tunnels, tens of power stations."
In comparison, London's budget for the 2012 Games is $15 billion. The anticipated final cost of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s building program is $11.8 billion.
Reported by Mark Bisson
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
