ST. PETERSBURG, November 18 (Itar-Tass) —— St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko did not rule out that the city authorities will look for a co-investor to build a new stadium for the football club Zenit with a substantially higher target financing of the project, he said at a visit to the construction site of the stadium together with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak.
If the costs exceed the target costs, “the city will seek for other ways of co-financing.” “There is no such need yet,” the governor said in reply to a question about Gazprom’s probable participation in the stadium construction project. Currently the city authorities instructed to keep within financial parameters of the project, which were set at 22.4 billion roubles, he said.
Kozak noted that the final cost to build a new stadium for Zenit is not set yet. The cost may be determined in 2-3 weeks, when the latest changes in the project concerning the stadium roof will be submitted in the main state expertise committee. The deputy prime minister noted that the top priority is the contract cost target. “We need not only a modern stadium, we need a stadium for concrete money,” he said. The implementation of similar projects should not give any room “to the fantasies of designers and architects,” which make the project cost higher.
Kozak noted that for an independent assessment of the project cost, the cost of which grew from current 6.7 billion roubles in 2006 to 22.4 billion roubles, an expert committee will be formed that will include the general subcontractor. Kozak noted that the stadium construction cost may grow just slightly and this massive project needs optimization. The deputy prime minister did not rule out that the contract with the subcontractor may be severed under some conditions. “A new contest [to implement the project] will be conducted with any rise of the contest price,” he said.
However, Kozak acknowledged that the change of the general subcontractor, which is Transstroy, and a new contest procedure will slow down the construction for 3-4 months.
Speaking on the deadlines for the end of the construction Poltavchenko expressed hope that it will be completed in 2013. According to him, he is strongly convinced that the city will keep funding the project under its commitments. The governor emphasized that about 70% of works envisaged in the initial project were done.
Transstroy Director General Alexei Barantsev noted that in case of a positive decision of the main state expertise committee in March 2012 the stadium may be built with the roof already next summer.
A new stadium is under construction at the place of the Kirov stadium in the Primorsky Park of Victory in the western part of the Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg. In 2005 the city authorities decided to pull it down and to build a new stadium at this place meeting modern requirements.