Sochi, Russia - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday night assured Olympic inspectors that preparations for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi are on schedule.

Putin told the International Olympic Committee coordination committee at the end of its two-day visit to the host city that all construction and financing plans will be met.

The statement came after the IOC committee head Jean-Claude Killy had urged Russian organizers not to waste any time with what is seen as an ambitious project.

"Time is not a luxury that we have to play with on this project," the Frenchman, who won three alpine ski gold medals at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, warned.

"The Sochi team must therefore ensure that it makes its decisions in a timely manner, so as to maintain its ambitious schedule."

Sochi won the 2014 Games in an IOC election in 2007. The Black Sea resort must build venues and infrastructure from scratch in a massive scheme estimated at more than
10 billion dollars (7.4 billion euros).

Putin led the Russian bid as the nation's president at the time and gave full financial assurances, but that was before the economic down-turn also reached Russia.

On Thursday, Putin dined with the IOC team and, according to the ITAR Tass news agency, assured them that "we are getting this done."

Putin said that some construction is even ahead of schedule and added: "We have said more than once that no matter what the difficulties, the necessary resources would be issued in full and on time, and this is what is happening."

The IOC inspectors spent the two days with Russian organizers who issued reports on the state of the preparations. Also part of the IOC delegation were the heads of the various Olympic winter sports federations who toured Olympic sites.

Apart from telling organizers not to pull back in their preparations, he also praised them for various parts of the project including the proposed Olympic villages in Sochi and at the mountain venues.

"The commission also took particular note of the designs of the Olympic Villages, which are of a very high standard. They will allow the athletes to prepare in the best possible manner for their competitions and this will no doubt lead to some great sporting memories and achievements during the Sochi Games," Killy said. (dpa)