Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Viktor Koksharov chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit committee’s this year’s final meeting. Deputy Head of Government Oleg Gusev reported that 45 out of 138 buildings needed for the future summit (scheduled for 2009) were already being repaired and upgraded. However, most of the work will probably be done in April-October 2008, with more than 500 buildings to be repaired simultaneously.

This year, the region has spent over one billion RUR on getting things ready for the summit, with another 300 million RUR contributed by Yekaterinburg municipal council and yet another 300 million RUR invested by local businesses.