Russia To Cut Olympic Venues Spending By 15 Pct

In November, Kozak said Russia would seek savings on preparations for the Games because of the economic downturn.

Russia has cut its budget for building venues for the 2014 Winter Olympics by 15 percent, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak as saying on Tuesday.

Russian media said Kozak made his statement during a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who helped win the 2014 hosting rights when he was Russia's president. "The price for the venues we have put into the budget is 15 percent lower," Interfax news agency quoted Kozak as saying.

Last October, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev put Kozak, one of the Kremlin's most trusted trouble-shooters, in charge of preparations for the Olympics in Sochi. Russia has pledged to spend $12 billion on developing the Black Sea resort.

In November, Kozak said Russia would seek savings on preparations for the Games because of the economic downturn.

Cost cuts would be sought in all big construction projects in which the state was involved, not just the Olympics, he said.

Kozak told Putin a special team of auditors was checking how efficiently funds for Olympic venues were being allocated. He added that work on the venues was going "according to plan".

"In just four venues, checked by state auditors, bloated costs worth a total of 7.5 billion roubles ($215.7 million) were found," Kozak said.

"This work has allowed us, taking into account all the venues budgeted last year and submitted to state auditors, to save 300 billion roubles ($8.63 billion) compared to original costs."

Putin told Kozak he believed the costs of Olympic venues were set to fall in line with lower prices for construction materials, local media reported.

Since last summer, the rouble has lost around a third of its value. The economic crisis has sapped confidence in Russia's bonds and stocks, and the economy is set to shrink for the first time in a decade.