Ukraine organisers pick Taiwanese firm for Euro 2012 stadium

Ukrainian organisers chose a Taiwanese firm yesterday to renovate the main stadium to be used in the 2012 European Championship following calls from UEFA to speed up tournament preparations.

Ukraine and Poland were chosen to host the tournament last year but were warned by UEFA's Michel Platini in January not to slip behind in modernising stadiums.

Archasia Design Group won the competition to begin work on Kiev's Olympic stadium, due to host the tournament final.

"At last, all the preliminary work is over and the jury has decided on the best option," Sports Minister Yuri Pavlenko said.

Few details were released but officials said costs would be within the government's target of $300m.

"The project will meet all vital requirements of UEFA for holding Euro 2012 - and this applies to the fans, the VIPS and media," Evhen Chervonenko, head of the state agency overseeing preparations, told a news conference.

He said dismantling work on the 84,000 capacity stadium, first erected in the 1920s, was to begin today.

An Archasia official also confirmed that the company had been chosen for the project.

"There are five days for other companies to appeal, but we don't think it will be a problem for us," Stan Lo told Reuters.

The firm will also build the Olympic park at Sochi, Russia's Black Sea resort which will host the 2014 Winter Games.