MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's top electricity official said electricity supplies would require 25% of the $12 billion earmarked for new sports facilities in Sochi selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympics Thursday.
In the past few years, electricity supplies in the mountainous Sochi region have been repeatedly disrupted by bad weather and rundown equipment.
"Out of the $12 billion to be allocated for the construction of Olympic venues in Sochi, one quarter - $3 billion - will have to be spent on electricity facilities," said Anatoly Chubais, the chief executive of the Unified Energy System (UES).
"Now we have a clear idea of what facilities are required and we will definitely invest all the necessary funds before 2012," Chubais said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose Sochi, originally an outsider in its bid, leaving out of the race Austria's Salzburg and South Korea's Pyeongchang. The Russian presentation was led personally by President Vladimir Putin who surprised the audience by speaking English for the first time in his public appearance and rounding up his address to the IOC in French.
But the Russian Black Sea resort will need substantial investment and a great deal of effort as it will have to build sports facilities from scratch.
