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All funds invested in Olympics remain in Russia - Ministry

"The regional projects allow us to create a favourable climate to attract foreign investors," Regional Development Minister Igor Slyunyaev says

YEKATERINBURG, April 02. /ITAR-TASS/. All the funds invested in building Olympic facilities in Sochi, developing infrastructure of the Black Sea coast and preparing for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games have remained in Russia, Regional Development Minister Igor Slyunyaev told ITAR-TASS on Wednesday.

Slyunyaev, who participates in the Second All-Russia Forum of Development Institutions in Yekaterinburg, said: “A problematic issue on the agenda concerns illegal exports of revenues from the Russian territory. I can say that this was not a problem in Sochi. All the funds invested in preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games have remained with the country.”

Slyunyaev added that the Games in Sochi even created “a multiplier effect” that covered all costs.

“Thanks to the Games, Sochi has changed a lot. It has become a tourist centre both for Russians and foreign guests,” he said. “It is important to implement such megaprojects as the APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] summit, the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the 2013 Summer Universiade in the central Russian city of Kazan, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi and the development of the Crimean peninsula. These regional projects allow us to create a favourable climate to attract foreign investors and to give a new look to separate municipalities," he noted.