Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee examined the Company's Olympic venues in Krasnaya Polyana and held a meeting on their state of readiness for commissioning.

Taking part in the meeting were Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee, Yaroslav Golko, Member of the Management Committee – Head of the Investment and Construction Department, heads of the Company's structural units, subsidiaries and contracting agencies.

The meeting noted that Gazprom was completing the large-scale construction of the Olympic venues.

Construction work is over at the Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline and the Adler Thermal Power Plant (TPP) that have a great significance for power supply to the future Winter Olympic Games and the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory.

The Biathlon and Ski Complex located in the mountains near Krasnaya Polyana is ready for operation. It is Russia's first and only modern facility situated in the medium-height mountains at the altitude of 1,430 to 1,600 meters above the sea level. Considering the fact that world ski and biathlon competitions regularly take place in the midlands, this Complex offers new opportunities to Russian athletes, as it allows them to bring their workouts as much as possible to the reality of competitions.

The all-out and successful testing of the Complex on the global scale took place in 2013 when it hosted the World Championships in Biathlon and Skiing, including among paralympians. Earlier, Russian competitions had been held at this facility.

The Mountain Tourist Center (MTC) includes already functioning hotels capable of accommodating more than one thousand people as well as over 15 kilometers of tracks of different levels of complexity.

This year the MTC transport infrastructure was expanded considerably. In particular, the second line was put into operation at the Psekhako II cableway leading to the main facilities on the Psekhako Ridge from its foot. This made it possible to double the throughput capacity of the cableway.

Another MTC transport facility – 3S aerial cableway – will come onstream soon. Its basic equipment has been already comprehensively tested. The 3S aerial cableway will be the world's longest: its length exceeds 5 thousand kilometers and the throughput is up to 3 thousand people in each direction.

The construction of the Mountain Olympic Village for 1,100 skiers and biathletes is nearing completion. The Village includes a cottage settlement for 260 people that has already been used by athletes during the winter competitions 2010–2011 and 2012–2013. In the other part of the Olympic Village – a hotel complex and apart-hotels designed to accommodate 840 people – decorations are in progress.

Gazprom continues intense gasification of villages, settlements and the central part of Sochi's Adler district. This October the Company plans to complete the construction of 29 gas distribution pipelines with a total length of 118 kilometers, thus enabling 29 population centers to receive gas.

“In order to be prepared for the Olympic Games, the host country needs to have the same amount of energy and the same professional attitude as the athletes competing during the Olympics. And it is an honor to be a part of such preparatory activities.

We are proud that we were entrusted with building a variety of the key Olympic venues. Gazprom does its best to make sure that both the athletes and the fans have the most positive impression of the quality of these competitions and that the Olympians show the best of their ability.

We are on the last lap now. I have no doubts that Gazprom will deliver its Olympic program at the highest possible level,” said Alexey Miller.

Background

In November 2007 the Federal Law was adopted on organizing and holding the 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games and XI Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, developing Sochi as a mountain resort and amending certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation. Pursuant to the document, the Russian Government approved the Program for the construction of Olympic venues and the development of Sochi as a mountain resort.

According to the Program, Gazprom is responsible for constructing the following Olympic facilities:

• Biathlon and Ski Complex with two access roads and a Mountain Olympic Village for 1,100 persons;
• MountainTourist Center;
• Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline;
• Adler Thermal Power Plant.

In addition, Gazprom was identified as the company responsible for the gasification of villages, settlements and the central part of Sochi's Adler district.

The Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline was brought onstream in 2011. It is the first offshore gas pipeline designed for providing gas supplies to Russian consumers. It stretches 171.6 kilometers and has an annual capacity of some 3.8 billion cubic meters. The gas pipeline landfalls are located near Dzhubga, Novomikhailovsky, Tuapse (two landfalls) and Kudepsta.

The Adler TPP was commissioned in January 2013. It became the main supplier of power to Sochi and adjacent areas. The Adler TPP is a high-technology generating facility with an efficiency of 52 per cent, a power capacity of 360 MW and a heat capacity of 227.8 Gcal per hour.