Hosting EXPO-2010 can cost Russia $10 billion

If Moscow is chosen to host the international industrial exhibition Expo-2010, the total volume of necessary investments will equal about $10 billion, according to the Russian economic development and trade ministry. The governments of Russia and Moscow are ready to allocate $1 billion each, while the rest of the funds will be collected from investors' contributions, said one of the ministry's leaders Yuri Zhdanov.

The results of the competition for hosting the exhibition will be announced on December 2-3 in Monaco. Russia's main rivals and China and South Korea.

If Moscow wins, the organizers will carry out "large-scale works" on the territory of the present All-Russian Exhibition Centre in the eastern part of the city to create "an absolutely unique exhibition object," the Russian deputy minister said