Putin orders to speed up preparations for 2018 FIFA World Cup
"The government of Russia should ensure jointly with top officials (the heads of the highest executive bodies of state authority) in Russian regions that comprehensive measures be taken to eliminate the existing delays in the construction of sports and other infrastructure for hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and for putting it into operation," the document says.
A report on this issue should be submitted before August 15 and "subsequently, on a monthly basis."
The document places responsibility for the fulfillment of this instruction on Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the governors of the regions slated to host the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The government has also been instructed to work jointly with the governor of the Kaliningrad Region in west Russia to decide on the issue of transferring a land site to the contractor, Crocus International, "for the construction of a football stadium in Kaliningrad and its provision with engineering infrastructure, considering the conduct of additional design and construction works related to soil deformation," and also to work jointly with the governor of the Samara Region to ensure "the acceptance of all the works performed for the construction of the stadium in Samara, considering the elimination of drawbacks exposed during construction control."
A report on these measures should also be submitted before August 15.
In turn, Russia's Transport Ministry should take measures jointly with the heads of the Republic of Mordovia in the Volga area and the Moscow and Kaliningrad Regions "to eliminate delays made in the construction of airport facilities." A report on this issue should be submitted also before August 15 and "subsequently, on a monthly basis."
Earlier press office of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) said it expected the St. Petersburg government to provide guarantees shortly that the stadium on Krestovsky Island will be commissioned by December 2016.
Russia won the bid to host the 2018 World Cup at the FIFA Congress in Guatemala on December 4, 2010. The victory came following a tight race against the bid from England, the joint bid from Portugal and Spain and the joint bid on behalf of Belgium and the Netherlands. The country selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital.
The FIFA Confederations Cup will be held in four Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kazan - from June 17 to July 2, 2017.
Source: TASS