Russia increases 2018 World Cup budget by $325 million

MOSCOW — Russia has increased government spending on the 2018 World Cup by 19.1 billion rubles ($325 million) without explanation.

Total spending rises to 638.8 billion rubles ($10.8 billion), with all of the increase coming from federal budget funds, which now make up almost 55 per cent of total spending.

The increase dwarfs previous attempts to cut costs by reducing the number of high-end hotels to be built and trimming expenses on other infrastructure.

There was no immediate comment by the World Cup organizing committee on the reason for the increase, which was announced when an updated budget document was published on the government legal database.

The document said the extra money would largely go to construction or refits of World Cup-related facilities, without specifying which particular projects.

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The Associated Press