Turin (pps) Thanks to financial support of the Italian government the budget amounting to 1.14 billion Euros is covered; at its session in Singapore, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) praised the organizational progress made; the modifications to the combined luge and bobsleigh track are about to be carried out. On Wednesday, August 10, exactly six months before the opening ceremony on February 10, 2006, the Olympic Winter Games in Turin are on a good way.

„Especially with regard to transportation, accommodation and funding, considerable progress was made in the past few months”, said IOC Director Gilbert Felli in Singapore, after the Organizing Committee TOROC had delivered a progress report to the Executive Board. Government guarantees amounting to 150 million Euros had certainly contributed greatly to this assessment.

The extension of the transport network, said Felli in Singapore, has advanced in the meantime. Therefore it was considered to expand the capacity of spectators for the competitions in the mountains. Felli: „However, this is only possible for certain days, on which not too many events coincide there”.

Modifications to the lower part of the Olympic track are expected to be carried out in the fall. Earlier, all involved parties including TOROC as well as both international federations for luge (FIL) and bobsleigh/skeleton (FIBT), had reached an agreement on the construction measures.