Moscow, Dec 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The construction of Skolkovo research hub near Moscow, dubbed Russia’s answer to Silicon Valley in the US, could cost up to 120 billion rubles (nearly $4 billion), an official said Saturday.
The project is expected to complete by 2015, Viktor Maslakov, the city manager of the Skolkovo fund, said. The costs will be shared by the state and private investors.
Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg in charge of the project said in October that Russia would allocate 85 billion rubles (about $2.8 billion) from the federal budget for the Skolkovo construction between 2011 and 2013.
The Skolkovo fund’s construction council has chosen French and Dutch architectural companies as finalists to develop the best building concept. The winner will be announced by the end of December.
Skolkovo is being built from scratch just 20 km west of Moscow. The hub will focus on five research areas: energy, information technologies, communication, biomedical research and nuclear technologies.
