Sochi 2014 CEO, Dmitry Chernyshenko told SportBusiness “we are very grateful for the excellent evaluation commission report which fully reflects all of our Bid's expectations. It praises our high quality Bid and excellent Games plan and states the Commission’s belief that our plans are achievable, confirming that the Commission shares our ambitious vision.”
“We are delighted that the members of the Commission praised our innovative plan for the Games and the fact that Sochi 2014 is a national priority for the Government, recognising that our Bid is underpinned by such strong government as well as public support.”
Chernyshenko stressed that the construction works are progressing at full speed in the Sochi region with new roads and tunnels and a new international terminal at the airport already completed ahead of schedule.
“Most of all,” he said, “we are glad that the Commission recognised the historical legacy that this Bid and the chance to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games offers Sochi, Russia and the Olympic movement. Sochi is a blank canvas and there are no limits to what we can do. We look forward to building the infrastructure to serve future generations.”
Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Zhukov thanked the IOC Evaluation Commission on behalf of the Russian people before going on to say, “We are pleased that the members of the Evaluation Commission have praised our visionary and innovative Games plan that will create one of the most compact Winter Games in Olympic history. Sochi’s brand new venues and facilities will lead to an incredible winter sport legacy that will benefit the region, Russia and the whole Olympic Movement”.
“As Deputy Prime Minister, I am pleased to see that the Commission also noted the total commitment and passion of President Putin and all his Government for this Bid. The report praised the fact that Sochi 2014 is a national priority and the Government has established a Federal Target Programme to guarantee the delivery all the venues and infrastructure necessary to host the 2014 Games.”
Minister of Economic Development, Herman Gref,stressed that Sochi was already addressing the challenge to deliver such a pioneering plan within seven years. He stated that extraordinary progress has already been made on major venues and Games infrastructure projects since the IOC Evaluation visit in February.
“The construction works are progressing at full speed. New roads and tunnels and a new international terminal at the airport have already been completed ahead of schedule.
“The active construction phase has started at the sports venues in the mountains, on telecommunications and accommodation infrastructure projects. In general, work is well ahead of schedule allowing us to confidently plan the completion of all necessary infrastructure at least one year before the Games in Sochi.”
