GORKI. Jan 23 (Interfax) - There are currently no plans to increase the budget for the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, although the deadline for its completion has been pushed back, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said.
"For now we're proceeding from the fact that the overall volume for the construction of the first and second stages has its cost limit, and we will be working within that sum. And time will tell," he said following a meeting hosted by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
"Roscosmos will complete some of the measures at its own expense. We will reschedule some other part to the second stage through streamlining, and undoubtedly a portion will be financed with funds that are planned for the second stage today. But this undoubtedly implies the return through court judgments of the money that is due to the contracting side today upon the severing of the contract," Borisov said.
Medvedev said that Roscosmos is asking for additional funds to complete the construction of the cosmodrome.
Borisov said that nobody will wait for the litigation to end, or else the construction would have to be mothballed and even more money would be needed later. "A total of around 28 billion rubles remain unused, unredeemed, in relation to the first stage," he said.