The APEC Russia 2012 () was the 24th annual gathering of APEC leaders. Leaders from the member economies met on Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok, Russia on September 9–10, 2012. The summit on Russky Island saw the resort, catering and entertainment facilities, in addition to the renovation and upgrading of Vladivostok International Airport. Two giant cable-stayed bridges were built in preparation for the summit, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Zolotoy Rog bay in the downtown, and Russky Island Bridge from mainland to Russky Island (which is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world right now). The new campus of the Far Eastern Federal University was also completed on the island by 2012 to house the summit. Preparation At APEC Vietnam 2006 in Hanoi, Russia put forward a proposal to host the 2012 summit. Originally, Patrokl Bay (southern part of Vladivostok) was suggested as the site to hold the summit. The original plan was to build a palace to host the actual summit, and a number of five-star hotels for visitors. After the summit, the palace would be converted into a wedding palace, its conference centre into the Opera, and the hotels into residential buildings. The original estimate for development costs was in the excess of 382 billion rubles, and included money the city felt was necessary to bring infrastructure such as the sewage system, roads, bridges, and water pipes to up-to-date condition. Herman Gref, then-Minister of Economics and Trade, who visited Vladivostok in December 2006 to ascertain the city's readiness to hold the summit, promptly dismissed this plan, stating that the cost estimate was overblown and that he was not responsible for solving the city's problems, and further accused the Vladivostok administration of unprofessionalism. In January 2007, Vladimir Putin, then-President of Russia, stated that holding a summit in Vladivostok was a distinct possibility, and that at least 100 billion rubles would be required to prepare the city for the summit, which, at the time, was three-times more than the budget of Primorsky Krai as a whole. On 27 January 2007, Putin visited Vladivostok to participate in a meeting regarding Russia's upcoming rotational presidency of APEC. The proposal put forward for Russia to hold the 2012 summit on Russky Island, which was a closed military zone during the Soviet-era, was confirmed at the end of the APEC Australia 2007 summit in Sydney, Australia. At a press conference