Official reports said 331 people, including 186 children, were killed in the three-day Beslan school siege in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia.
"We believe the work will be completed in 2007," Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref, currently on a trip through the region, said. He added that, if necessary, amendments to the 2007 draft budget could be made to raise more funds for reconstruction.
The Russian government has allocated 1.5 billion rubles ($56 million) in federal funds to rebuild Beslan's social and economic infrastructures, including the construction of two schools, a medical center and sports grounds and facilities.
When asked whether a tourism and recreation zone could be created in the republic, which is part of Russia's restive Caucasus region, Gref said: "Such a zone could emerge. It depends on how well the republic prepares itself."
