Russian Sports Minister Happy with Sochi 2014 Olympic Progress

(ATR) Vitaly Mutko tells Around the Rings he is pleased with the speed of preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, insisting organizers are "fulfilling our obligations" to the IOC.

"Yes, I am happy with that. I think we are doing well," Mutko told ATR in Moscow during a media tour for the Russian 2018 World Cup bid he is leading.

"We are fulfilling our obligations. We are on time, we are not behind."

Mutko pointed to the progress in constructing the Olympic Park on a coastal site in the Black Sea resort and on snow venues in the mountain cluster about 30km away.

His comments to ATR come just two weeks after an IOC check-up on the 2014 project.

Jean-Claude Killy, head of the IOC Coordination Commission for Sochi 2014, declared his satisfaction with progress across the project.

"He comes here every two months. He is a great professional and we are in good contact with him," Mutko said of Killy, who is tasked with ensuring the massive construction effort hits all IOC deadlines.

At the 200-hectare Olympic Park - one of the biggest construction sites in Europe - six venues are at various stages of construction.

Foundation work on the 40,000-seat main stadium started earlier this year ahead of the construction phase. This venue would also be upgraded for the 2018 World Cup if Russia gets the FIFA vote on Dec. 2. England, Holland-Belgium and Spain-Portugal are the challengers in the bid race.

Around the Rings visited the Olympic Park on Wednesday as part of a media tour paid for by the Russian World Cup bid.

Progress was most evident on the Bolshoi Ice Palace. Construction started last year and the concrete structure is virtually complete. The ice hockey venue will accommodate 12,000 spectators at the 2014 Games; it will be a multipurpose sports and entertainment center in legacy mode.

Work is also taking shape on the Maly Ice Palace, a 7,000-seat hockey venue that will be dismantled after the Games.

Other Olympic Park venues to be built on the site include a curling center, Olympic skating center and Olympic oval.

Olympstroy, the state company in charge of venue and infrastructure developments for the Games, is overseeing work across 250 Olympic-related projects.

Alexandra Kosterina, a spokeswoman for Olympstroy, told ATR that 100 of those projects were currently under construction and insisted construction of the main Olympic stadium was on schedule.

Most competition venues for the 2014 Olympics are due for completion two years ahead of the Games to allow for test events.

But the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies is not hosting any sports events and will not be completed until 2013.

"We have plenty of time," she said.

Kosterina confirmed that around 1,000 Sochi residents across the city had been forced to relocate to make way for Olympic constructions.

For those who turned down the rehousing option, the government is paying homeowners $50,000 per 100 square-meters to acquire their land, she said.

But she claimed that only about eight homeowners had been displaced on land needed for the main Olympic stadium.

The venue's capacity would be increased to 46,000 to meet FIFA requirements for a World Cup if Russia is successful in its bid.

Mutko Feared Axe After Vancouver Disaster

Vitaly Mutko admitted to reporters that he thought his tenure as sports minister was over after his country's abysmal performance at the Vancouver Games.

"For six months I was not the happiest of ministers," he said in his briefing with journalists.

"I expected someone would take me into Red Square and say 'well, that's the end of you'," he quipped.

"Of course everybody expects athletes from this country to win," he said, blaming Russia's poor showing on a lack of government focus and investment in sports strategy over the last decade.

He insisted the new strategy for the development of sport and athletes adopted by the government last year would raise the standard of Russia's winter sports athletes ahead of the Sochi Games.

Russia won only three golds, five silvers and seven bronzes to finish sixth in the overall table at the Vancouver Games.

Written by Mark Bisson.