‘We are on the rocks’: Tatarstan biathlon complex was back-burnered
As the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport of Tatarstan Vladimir Leonov told Realnoe Vremya online newspaper, a biathlon complex whose construction was due to start in Zainsk District last year won't be erected this year – no money left. But if Moscow includes the project in the agenda in 2017, Tatarstan promises to finish it in record time – by 2018. Curiously, if in May the cost of the complex was 600m rubles, now the volume of financing was reduced sixfold – to 100m rubles.
'We are on the rocks'
According to the head of the Ministry of Sport of Tatarstan Vladimir Leonov, the announced construction of the biathlon complex in Tatarstan was back-burnered. Although the construction documentation has already been prepared today, the financial state leaves much to be desired.
'We are on the rocks,' Leonov sadly admitted. 'But we don't lose our hope. We've already sent an application to the Ministry of Sport [of the Russian Federation] asking to include the complex in the agenda in 2017. Now they have a programme – construction of some federal sports preparation centres. Vitaly Mutko visited this venue, we showed it to him in the last season. We enlisted the support of the both Cross Country Ski Federation of Russia and the Biathlon Federation. They are satisfied with the place and the format.'
Gradual volume of financing is quite big – over 100m rubles
It should be reminded, first of all, Tatarstan planned to use the biathlon complex for camps and preparation of athletes. And the republic has quite a strong ski school. Suffice it to say that Tatarstan was represented by 8 athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, including skiers Natalia Zhukova and Anastasia Dotsenko, Nordic skiers Niyaz Nabeyev and Ivan Panin. But there were not any biathletes.
According to Leonov, today there is a 'certain foundation'. But it is planned to turn it into an international complex. The authorities of Tatarstan decided not to deal with a higher category because of its high price and small necessity. But the Category B of the International Biathlete Union enables to organise European championships, cups, world junior championships.
'We chose the most optimal variant. We formed a technical building. The most important thing is that we have an expertise. The project was approved. The complex won't appear tomorrow. But we are working on it step by step. The gradual volume of financing is quite big – over 100m rubles,' Vladimir Leonov told the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya during the conversation. 'If it is in next year's agenda, we will finish its construction within a year. It is a big complex that has a final shooting range, fully fledged biathlon complex with piste. The stadium and the shooting range are equipped with the most expensive devices. There is a piste there, but it needs to be widened and prepared.'
Izge Tau in Yalta-Zay for 600m rubles
It was planned to create the complex at the existing Yalta-Zay ski base. Initially, the authority of Zainsk District offered the project on the biathlon complex first. The head of the Zainsk executive committee Razif Karimov presented the project on the Regional Cross Country and Biathlon Centre to Vitaly Mutko and the PM of Tatarstan Ildar Khalikov at the end of April 2015. According to the results of the presentation, it seems there was made a decision to expend money on the fulfilment of the project called Izge Tau (Holy Hill). Karimov told 600m rubles were needed, not 100bn that the Minister counts on.
As it is known, stadium and ski piste are the basic things for biathlon competitions. The authorities of Zainsk noted that the second component 'the high-quality piste is already in the place where the construction is due to begin': '2,5 km, 3 km, 5 km and 10 km ski pistes were made in the neighbouring woodland on a 7,2 ha territory. Moreover, they have already been tested. The final of the 2007 Cross Country Ski Spartakiad among schoolchildren and the 2009 Archery Biathlon Championship of Russia took place there.
In 2015, 1,1 ha and 1,9 ha land parcels were designed for starting and finishing zones and the shooting area. There were found zones 'where one can have a good view of the starting and finishing zones and the shooting area'. 'Modern shooting ranges, medical and recovery centres, a residence hall with a restaurant and room for weapon storage, press centre, special room to wax skis with forced air ventilation' were to appear in 2016.
Good location was to the project's advantage: the regional centre will be situated between Fedotovo Sports and Business Centre with ski pistes and Fakel children's holiday camp. It is 230 km from Kazan, 15 km from Begishevo Airport, 20 minutes from railway stations of the neighbouring cities on Naberezhnye Chelny-Almetyevsk highway that 'gives an opportunity to get the venue without problems'. As the vice-president of the Cross Country Ski and Biathlon Federation of Tatarstan Eduard Galeyev, who participated in the creation of the project, told in the spring 2015, 'the state and private partnership will help to finance the construction'. They were going to excavate in the summer 2015 'after the end of all design and survey works'.
Last year Vladimir Leonov told Realnoe Vremya online newspaper about a preliminary agreement with Vitaly Mutko to prepare the project and expressed his desire to 'be included in the Federal Target Programme that will be formed from the next year. But it seems that something has gone wrong this year…