Russia is capable of holding extraordinary 2014 Winter Olympics, so there is every hope that the world will remember that Olympiad for a long time. This is the way the head of the International Olympic Committee’s coordination commission for the 2014 Sochi Olympics Jean-Claude Killy described his impressions after visiting several sports facilities in Sochi. He had talks with the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has shown his guest the key infrastructure facilities under construction.

The picturesque resort city on the Black Sea shore is getting ready to turn in a matter of five years into the focal point of world-scale development, the 2014 Winter Olympics. Despite the problems triggered by the ongoing world crisis, no Russian or foreign investors have pulled out of the Sochi-2014 project. Quite the opposite, another two companies have recently joined in. The Russian Prime Minister, who oversees the Olympic construction effort, feels that the reason is that the southern region is highly attractive investment-wise. This year the Russian government will spend 127 billion roubles on the development of the Olympic project as against 113 billion roubles last year.

“The effort underway,” Vladimir Putin said, “is tightly controlled. We proceed strictly on schedule.” Construction and erection work is due to get started at all sports facilities. That work has already been going on at 21 of these facilities, which should be completed by 2012 to play host to trial competition. Last year we completed the first start-up facility of the railroad warehouse depot which should provide for the receiving of building materials and equipment – on the order of 5 million tons. The second start-up facility with the capacity of 14 million tons is due to be commissioned later this year. Work is due to get underway at the cargo side port shortly. Almost all components of logistical infrastructure are due to be completed to go ahead with the large-scale construction effort. A major infrastructure project is a combined rail – and motorway. Work on building the first tunnel is scheduled to begin this spring.

Over the past week an International Olympic Committee team of inspectors under Jean-Claude Killy has been in Sochi on a fact– finding mission, and Killy says he is absolutely content with what he has seen during his inspection.

One can see that the city is radically changing even approaching Sochi aboard a plane, Jean-Claude Killy says. One can see construction work under way at the cargo side port, as well as the building of railway approach lines. I really liked what I saw in Sochi. Our plans for holding extraordinary Olympics are still in place, the more so since you’ve decided not to go deeper into the valley, so the organization of the Games actually along the railway line is something absolutely unique. I must say, Jean-Claude Killy says, we are greatly impressed.

The 2014 Sochi Olympiad may prove the warmest of the Winter Olympic games both because guests will be accorded a very warm welcome and because today the day temperature in Sochi is 10 degrees above zero Celsius. But the hottest places in the city are those where the construction of sports facilities is in full swing. Most of these are scheduled to be commissioned in two years’ time to play host to the first trial competitions there.