Russia 2018: Russian Ministry of Sports estimates total construction bill at €12.6bn

The total cost for construction for the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be 620 billion roubles (approximately €12.6bn), Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko indicated at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy on 20/03/2014. Mutko is also a member of the executive committee of FIFA (International Federation of Association Football).

Forty percent of this amount (approximately €5bn) will be spent directly on the construction and renovation of stadiums. The remaining 60% (approximately €7.6bn) will be for infrastructure (roads, hotels, airports and training facilities).

The 2018 World Cup will be held in 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities. The date for the drawing for the qualifying round has been set for 25/06/2015 in Saint Petersburg.

Three previously built stadiums:

• The Kazan Arena (Russian Republic of Tatarstan), inaugurated on 07/07/2013. The cost of construction, originally planned at €260m, overran to €360m (by 38%), which represents a cost of €8,000 per seat. The increase is partly due to the addition of an LED display of 4,200 m2 on the exterior of the…