The Kaliningrad region plans to build a state residence on the Baltic coast by the end of 2009 to receive visiting Russian and foreign dignitaries, Kommersant reported Wednesday, citing Governor Georgy Boos.

A German air force base that also accommodated Soviet sailors after World War II was chosen as the site, the newspaper said. The political significance of the residence means the region's problems will be resolved on the federal level faster than they are today, Boos said, Kommersant reported.

"Construction will begin in the fall and be completed within 2 1/2 years," Boos said.

A source in the governor's office also added that financing for the building would come from Moscow, but that local authorities would lay the groundwork for the site.

But officials at the president's office were unable to comment on the specifics of the initiative.

"We have no information on this matter," Kremlin press secretary Viktor Khrekov said, Kommersant reported. "I would not exclude the possibility that this has all been dreamed up by some regional official."

(Bloomberg, MT)