UKT&I report highlights construction opportunities in Russia for 2014 Winter Games

British firms are being encouraged to bid for up to $20bn of construction work surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

A new report from UK Trade & Investment (UKT&I) says that UK construction, engineering and architectural expertise is in an excellent position to benefit from the colossal new build required for the 2014 Games.

As much as 80% of the venues and infrastructure needed for the Games must be built from scratch, and the Sochi organising committee has been given a federal grant of $12bn to build it.

But infrastructure works elsewhere in Krasnodar Krai, the Russian region in which the city lies, and private sector developments surrounding the Games, means that there is up to $20bn of work up for grabs.


Wilkinson Eyre's Nizhny Novgorod winter sports complex
Credit: Wilkinson Eyre
Wilkinson Eyre is designing a winter sports complex at Nizhny Novgorod, to be used for training for the 2014 Games

This includes a total of 218 construction projects directly related to the Games, transportation improvements to road, rail and shipping infrastructure, and hotels and leisure projects in the city itself. Sochi will more or less double in size in the run-up to the Games, and much of this development is being funded by the federal government.

One company that has already received an invitation to tender is the Newcastle-based architect and urban design practice IDPartnership.

Mark Massey, a senior partner at IDPartnership, visited Moscow with UKT&I to discuss opportunities. The company has already been asked to submit proposals for a sustainable masterplan for Sochi 2014.

Massey said: “I was astonished by the warm reception our sustainable infrastructure proposals received. We like to think that in the West we are business-minded and open to entrepreneurial ideas; however, our new Russian colleagues amazed me.”

Another UK company that has already received work from the build-up to 2014 is Wilkinson Eyre, which is to build a training ground for the Winter Olympics in nearby Nizhny Novgorod.

The UKT&I report, which details all 218 projects related to the Games, can be obtained by visiting www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk or calling +44 (0)20 7215 8000.

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