Ukraine venue faces uncertainty

Authorities in Ukraine's western city of Lviv are looking for new builders after an Austrian firm pulled out of constructing a stadium for the Euro 2012 finals, an official said yesterday.

Austria's Alpine Bau, one of the country's largest building firms, last week said it could not complete the 30,000-seat stadium within budget constraints set by Lviv city officials.

The incident is the second involving construction of Ukrainian stadiums for the tournament after authorities had to change the general contractor for renovation of Kiev's main stadium, due to host the Euro 2012 final.

After two visits to Ukraine by president Michel Platini, UEFA last month upheld the right of Ukraine to keep the tournament, co-hosted with Poland, subject to strict monitoring.

Oleh Zasadny, head of the Euro 2012 department at Lviv city council, said the council had rejected Alpine Bau's new costs which exceeded the budgeted 85 million euros.

"Lviv city council has therefore launched procedures to find a new contractor," Zasadny told Reuters. "Talks are under way with companies from Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Germany and Spain and official proposals have been submitted."

In Kiev, a senior Ukrainian soccer federation official said it was awaiting word on who would be awarded the contract.

"Lviv authorities still have not decided on a contractor who can tell terms on completing the project and present a detailed plan on its realisation," Ivan Fedorenko, head of the Euro 2012 directorate, told Reuters.