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The readiness of Odesa Airport makes 40 percent, and all the other, except Boryspil, from 4 to 10, Mayor of Odesa says
16:38 / 12.06.2009

ODESA, JUNE, 12th, 2009, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE – Mayor of Odesa City, Eduard Gurvits stated readiness of Odesa Airport for hosting EURO 2012 made 40 percent, and all the other, except Boryspil, from 4 to 10, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

Eduard Gurvits stated it in his interview to the Izvetsiya Ukrainy (News of Ukraine).

“We were given the same fine points foe the airport as all the other cities, except Kyiv. At that we have to count our airport has got a larger capacity already today than the one only planned to be built in Kharkiv. At present the level of readiness of Odesa airport makes 40 percent, at the same time all the other have from 4 to 10 percent except Boryspil. After counting all the fine points our city was the second after Kyiv. The capital got 32 fine points. Odesa was on the second place having 44 points. However we have to consider 24 points for the airport. Plus we were given 8 points as all the others for such an index as “possibility to get to the city by car”. The next city was Lviv having 48 points. Then Dnipropetrovsk – 56 points, Donetsk – 58, and Kharkiv – 62. The UEFA published the data provided by their experts 11 May, 2009, i.e. two days before the sitting in Bucharest. Eventually this evaluation was ignored, but, as we were later informed they counted the opinion of the National Federation of Football”, — Eduard Gurvits said.

Mr. Mayor also said: “It is a common fact the contests held by the UEFA or International Organizing Committee are the least transparent and, I believe, the most subjective. And that has reasonable excuses. Nevertheless non of the juries in the world making, speaking correctly, non-transparent decision, can count that decision will be accepted in silence and without objections, especially if it impacts the interests of hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions. This is my reply to those who say UEFA’s decision is final and not applicable. This cannot be that way. What the Executive Committee (not having gone anywhere and not having seen anything) based their decision on?”

“We will fight. The stadium in Odesa is being built and there is no doubt it will be finished. Two wonderful training centres are ready to accept European teams even today. The stadium is 20 percent ready. The airport will be reconstructed. Concerning all the rest there are no claims to us. What is utterly important Odesa is the only city claiming to host EURO 2012 Championship that had not asked for funding to build the airport or the stadium. Practically we asked to do what the government was supposed to do without any championship: their own Programme of the Cabinet for Development of Odesa 2002 – 2015”, — Mayor added.

“We did not take part in the behind-the-scenes games, we were honestly getting ready for the Championship. And if someone thought Odesa would pay its future for the prospect of holding the championship – giving away the airport or something of the sort, this is the problem of some greedy narrow-minded people. This is not the last chance for Odesa anyway. You must remember: a huge liner Queen Elizabeth called in Odesa. Mayor of Chicago happened to be travelling on it. He later sent me his photo and wrote he had never expected to see such a wonderful city in the post-soviet area”, he finished.