Sochi '14 Struggling With 'Overspending' And 'Lack Of Plan' For Future Usage of Facilities

An official audit report revealed state overspending on Sochi '14 "amounts to more than half a billion dollars while the government has failed to provide a lasting legacy for sporting venues," according to the AFP. Russia's federal audit office "gave a damning verdict on preparations for the Sochi Games, as well as plans for dealing with the giant venues once the Olympics are over." The Audit Chamber said cost overruns were the fault of state corporation Olympstroi, whose officials "created preconditions for unnecessary increase of construction cost for sports venues," which amounted to 15.5B rubles ($505M). The report said that Olympstroi had taken "decisions which increased cost of objects without giving reasons for new calculations." The Audit Chamber also noted the "lack of any plan for future usage of Sochi's sports infrastructure." The report said, "The problem of effective use of Olympic heritage objects is one of the most important and must be solved immediately," noting that no program for future venue usage had yet been agreed (AFP, 3/13).