The Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi 2014 has had a welcome boost with the signing of new sponsors and partners pushing the budget to record levels. Alexandra Savina of the Sochi 2014 organizing committee announced late last week that the budget is now estimated at $1.1 billion, more than has been spent on any Winter Olympics.

Aeroexpress is considering building its own terminals and providing train services between city centre rail hubs and and airports in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Sochi, and Kazan. The volume of investment required to complete the project has not been disclosed yet. AeroExpress currently operate rail services which connect Moscow's three major airports, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo with rail termini in central Moscow.

In the first 10 months of 2010 the company carried over 8 million passengers. They estimate almost 20% of passengers travelling through Moscow airports use Aeroexpress services as a means of getting into the city.

During the first 10 months of 2010 the city of Kazan has demonstrated the biggest growth in house prices. According to the National Association of Estimate Pricing and Cost Engineering 1sq meter of residential property in the city of Kazan costs 39,580 RUR, an increase of 7.8% so far this year.

The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, and the Regional Hotel Chain (RHC), the leading dedicated regional hotel developer in Russia, announce the Park Inn City Centre Sochi. The hotel featuring 160 rooms is scheduled to open in 2013, in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. RHC is one of Rezidor's most important partners for future business development in Russia - in 2009 both companies have signed an agreement for up to 20 Park Inn hotels centrally located across major cities in the country.

The Hydrometcentre of Russia has begun the trial operation of two environmental observation centres in the construction zone of the Olympic park in the Imeretinskaya Valley. The equipment at the centres constantly monitors air information in the four basic pollution substances: carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and dioxides and sulphur dioxides. In parallel to measuring the concentration of the pollution substances in the atmosphere, the centres also track the basic meteorological indicators.

The first section of the “Adler – Alpika-Service” combined railway and highway was officially opened in Adler near Sochi. The first section of the combined road built by JSC Russian Railways, a Sochi 2014 General Partner, is 6 km long and connects the Imereti lowland with the existing highway to the mountain resort Krasnaya Polyana, bypassing the urban boundaries of Adler. The new road will provide circular movement around the airport, which, in turn, will greatly facilitate the organization of vehicular traffic at Olympic construction sites and ease congestion.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Kozak, confirmed during a work trip to Sochi on Friday that the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will cost 185 billion rubles. This includes 80 billion rubles from public funds, with the remainder being sourced from private investors. Mr Kozak also confirmed that the preparation for the Winter Games is fully on-track.