Government spending on preparing the venues for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi has dropped by as much as 300 billion roubles, or almost 9 million dollars, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said. He added that revised expenses proved to be slightly less than previously budgeted, citing data obtained by a state evaluation commission, which checked out the construction estimate documentation on the Olympic facilities.

Kozak explained that expenses fell several times due to sharp drops in the prices for construction materials. “For example, we managed to reduce the estimated cost of one of the four Olympic venues by 7,5 billion roubles,” Kozak said. “That the Olympic price tag became cheaper is especially important now, when the global economic crisis continues to bite,” Kozak noted, voicing hope that the construction of all the Olympic facilities will be successfully finished. “Significantly, the government hopes that Olympic construction can help create more jobs in the region – something that should certainly become our top priority amid the ongoing economic gloom,” Kozak emphasized. “In this sense, we ought to do our best to step up the construction of Olympic venues so we could add to tackling the unemployment problem.”

The Sochi-based Housing and Utilities Reform Fund plans to allocate more subsidies to preserve at least 1.5 million jobs in the region, Kozak explains, adding that another 20 000 jobs are estimated to be created after the financing for an array of regional projects in Sochi will be in place. This is extremely important, Kozak insisted, because more jobs mean more state support to people, who are now desperately trying to weather the economic meltdown. Providing jobs is, in fact, becoming the government’s chief anti-crisis measure, Kozak noted.

“In addition, we are currently grappling with possible long-term use of Olympic facilities, Kozak said, citing private investors, who had already displayed interest to build four Olympic venues. They include a training base for Russian athletes, a children’s aquatic park, and a multi-purpose sports complex. These project will enable us to be quick in attracting private investors’ money to finalize the construction,” Kozak said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also reiterated that the preparations for the Sochi Olympic games were fully in sync with schedule and next year should see the Russian Black Sea resort officially host an Olympic flag-holding relay.