Putin named Semyon Vaynshtok, currently the chief executive of the state-controlled OAO Transneft, to lead the state corporation that would conduct preparations for the Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Vaynshhtok, who has headed Transneft for eight years and is set to step down this week, accepted the proposal made during a televised meeting with Putin.

The new state Olympic corporation will manage at least $7.5 billion (5.4 billion euros) in federal funds earmarked for a sweeping construction program related to the games, which will be the biggest international event on Russian soil since the Moscow Olympics of 1980.

In his term as chief executive of Transneft, Vaynshtok has overseen vast capital projects such as the Baltic Pipeline System, generally delivering them on time and on budget.