Thursday, July 22, 2010

Russia's Corruption Builds $7.8 Billion Road

Corrupt practices in Russia have greatly ballooned the costs of simple road projects ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, according to a recent article from the Russian edition of Esquire magazine.

Corruption in Russia has made road-building so expensive that the same stretches of highway could be coated in an eight-inch thick layer of foie gras for the same price, a study has found.

The decision to publish the bizarre calculation in the Russian edition of Esquire magazine was designed to embarrass the Kremlin, which has failed to tackle endemic corruption in the industry. The magazine used one road, being built for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the southern town of Sochi, as an example. The price tag for the 50-kilo-metre long road is $7.8 billion Cdn, more than the entire costs of the Vancouver Olympics including the upgrades to the Sea to Sky Highway.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/road+Sochi+costs+billion+corruption/3308038/story.html#ixzz0uQmjuj5a

One road in Sochi costs $7.8 billion due to corruption
Daily Telegraph via The Vancouver Sun
July 22, 2010