Vladimir Putin: ‘Games Preparations are proceeding according to Plans and with due Quality’

KAZAN – The preparations for the Summer Universiade in Kazan are proceeding according to plans and with proper quality. With these words, as the Press Office of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan reports, Vladimir Putin opened a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports, which was held at the Main International Centre in the Universiade Village on Tuesday, March 19. The meeting was attended by President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and by heads of federal ministries, agencies, and sports federations.

‘I think that Kazan is gradually becoming the sports capital of Russia. Grandiose construction is proceeding apace, in any case everything is proceeding according to plans, and I must say that this is impressive’, said Vladimir Putin, summing up his impressions from what he had seen at the competition venues for the upcoming Summer Universiade.

He said that 27 out of 29 competition venues, planned to be built especially for the competitions, had already been commissioned, with some of them being truly unique and able to host competitions at the very highest international levels in the future. First and foremost he mentioned the Kazan Arena Stadium. It is being built in accordance with International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) requirements for five star category stadiums. ‘Naturally, it will be ready for the 2013 University Games and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I remember how in the summer of 2010, it seems just a short time ago, we laid the foundation stone and started building. Now it is almost ready, there are only a few unfinished things’, stressed Vladimir Putin.

The Head of State thinks that construction of the sports infrastructure for the Summer Universiade will create a rich sports and education cluster in Kazan, which will regularly host national and international competitions and nurture new generations of home-grown athletes.

‘In general, the Universiade made it possible to upgrade the sports facilities in Kazan’s universities, bring the development of university sports to a totally new level and, of course, trigger interest to sports among our young people’, believes Vladimir Putin.

‘The Universiade is a celebration for the entire nation. It is important that as many students and representatives from the regions as possible be able to watch the competition and cheer for our team. I would ask you to address this issue very carefully indeed and help resolve all organisational problems’, said Vladimir Putin.

The President of Tatarstan delivered a report on the host city’s preparations for the 27th Summer Universiade. He pointed out that it became possible for Kazan to host the World University Games only because Vladimir Putin supported the project.

The Head of the Republic said that the preparations are being constantly monitored by the Games Organising Committee led by First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov. 228 billion rubles, including 67 billion rubles from the federal budget, 81 billion rubles from the republican budget (including 62 billion rubles of loans from the budget) and 81 billion rubles of investors’ funds, have been allocated since 2009 to erect competition venues and develop the transport infrastructure and support facilities in the build-up to the 2013 Summer Universiade. 64 state-of-the-art multipurpose venues, including 29 newly-built competition venues and the Universiade Village, will be put to use during the Games.

Rustam Minnikhanov noted that the new sports infrastructure increased the number of Kazan citizens who regularly exercise and play sports by 50%. 

The President of Tatarstan said that the construction and upgrading of competition venues will be completed by May 15, 2013.

‘The sports infrastructure built for the Summer Universiade is among the best ones in the country, and, of course, it should work and bring results’, stressed Rustam Minnikhanov. Shamil Tarpischev and Irina Viner-Usmanova helped Tatarstan open schools, based on the competition venues, where experienced coaches sent by sports federations work. Kazan is expected to become a training centre for national teams in a number of sports.

Rustam Minnikhanov specifically commented on the great job done to develop the transport infrastructure. The airport is being overhauled, a project was implemented to arrange intermodal transportations from the airport to the city centre, and three new underground stations with a total length of 5.1 km are being built. 8 out of 11 multi-level interchanges have already been opened for regular traffic.

During the Games, Kazan hotels will be able to accommodate 20,000 people at a time, with 15 more hotels of more than 2,000 beds at the stage of completion.

‘Our ultimate goal is to stage the Universiade at the highest level possible’, stressed the President of Tatarstan closing his speech. ‘I believe that thanks to the work done the 2013 Summer Universiade will become one of the most memorable Games in the history of FISU, and the Universiade legacy will bring long-term benefits to our people.’

Summing up the results of the meeting, Vladimir Putin noted that in general the Games preparations are proceeding according to plans and with due quality. “We need to make a finishing effort – to complete everything that is not finished yet and finalise everything connected with the infrastructure’, said the President of Russia. ‘And of course, we expect our athletes to perform well’, reports the Press Office of the President of Tatarstan.

(Source: Kazan 2013 Media Dept.)