by Nina Achmatova

To finance the mammoth organization of the World Cup 2018, the Moscow administration launches a vast privatization plan. Among public property put on the market since 2011, the great Luzhniki stadium, where the final will be held.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - After the unexpected allocation of World Cup 2018 to Russia, Moscow has given the green light to a large privatization project. The plan, which provides for the sale of part of the heritage of the capital in the hands of the administration of the new mayor Sergei Sobjanin, will finance the organization of this major sporting event, the first such competition to be held in Eastern Europe.

Officially the World Cup is expected to cost Russia 10 billion dollars, but experts say the real costs will swell to 50 billion dollars, because the city will have to not only build 13 stadiums from scratch, but also roads, hotels and facilities for which country certainly does not shine. This is why Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has promised a conclusion to works in 2017, has already launched an appeal to the great Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovich, to "open their money bags."

In need of capital for the World Cup, authorities are putting their goods up for sale. Among the buildings that Moscow will privatize in 2011, part of the great Luzhniki stadium, where the opening and the final of the World Cup will be held. According to a report in the business daily Vedomosti, the sale of the Luzhniki is expected to generate at least 445 million dollars. The arena, part of which has already hosted the 1980 Olympics, will undergo a heavy refurbishment ahead of the major sporting event: its capacity will increase from 70 thousand to at least 90 thousand people.

On the list of properties for sale from next year, are: the city’s shares in the Vnukovo airport, the Radisson-Slavyanskaya and Metropol hotels, the Yevropeisky shopping centre, the Gostiny Dvor exhibition center, theWorld Trade Center and the construction company Mospromstroi .

The privatization of municipal property has seen a strong regional growth in recent years, after the green light given by federal government. In 2009, the sale of real estate brought about 20 million dollars into the coffers of the Moscow administration. The figure this year has reached over 32 million dollars. And for 2011, the privatization plan launched by Sobjanin is 15 times greater than that proposed by former Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov.

• Russia
• moscow
• world
• cup
• privatisation
• property
• finance
• cost
• mayor