(Newswire.net — August 28, 2016) — Sent Petersburg, Russian Federation – In times of crisis it is natural for civil authorities to reach for the help of army to address issues such as earth quakes, floods or any similar disaster. The mayor of St Petersburg considered finishing a soccer stadium for 2018 World Cup problem No 1 and called Russian Special Forces to help.
Mayor of one of the largest cities in Russia, St Petersburg (formerly the city of Leningrad in communist era) called Russian Paratroopers to assist in finishing the 2018 World Cup construction. They rejected the call saying they have ‘no time’ to deal with this issue.
“We are surprised by the statements of [St Petersburg] vice-governor Igor Albin about the new use of the Airborne Troops for the construction of the Zenit-Arena in St Petersburg,” Russia Today quoted Russian national news agency TASS.
Beside Olympic Games, the Soccer World Cup is one of the largest global sport events, and a privilege for hosting country to organize. There is also an expected infrastructure boom for cities where the tournament is to be held.
So, finishing infrastructure and buildings on time is an issue of national pride, but not a life threatening situation. The Russian Paratroopers representative said that even if such desire to help would have appeared, the packed timetable of Russian elite troops would not allow that.
“We would like to note that the Airborne Troops are one of the most elite combat units of the armed forces, and are designed to address the most complex and challenging tasks to ensure the security of our state. Therefore, the paratroopers do not have time for construction works, even regarding stadiums.”
There is a reason, however, behind Albin’s proposal which was made after Russian Airborne Colonel, who allegedly was in charge of overseeing parts of the construction, how much time it would take one of his units to finish the workload.
Allegedly, the Colonel said that his Paratrooper unit can finish the job within one month, and all he need is the “order from the Commander in Chief [the Russian President].”
The cost for the building The Zenit-Arena is named after the St Petersburg-based football club Zenit, have skyrocketed from the initial $104 million to at latest $665 million.
Authorities stated that the stadium will be completed this year.