ST. PETERSBURG -- Gas monopoly Gazprom said Wednesday that it planned to build a $600 million office block in St. Petersburg amid calls from minority shareholders to cap spending on noncore business.
The project, one of the most ambitious in modern Russia, comes as many firms move their head offices to St .Petersburg to help the home city of President Vladimir Putin boost tax revenues and catch up with the wealthy capital.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller told reporters the firm had shortlisted seven international architects to design a 300-meter building to fit into the historical landscape of St. Petersburg.
"Whoever wins, it will be a super-project. It will be a masterpiece," St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko told a news conference, promising to consult the city's inhabitants before taking a final decision.
"We are talking here about figures exceeding $600 million," said Miller, while Matviyenko added that the total investment by the world's biggest gas firm could be much bigger and go beyond the construction of only one skyscraper by 2010.
Minority investors have repeatedly criticized Gazprom for investments in noncore assets, ranging from yacht clubs to stables and pig farms.
But Miller rebuffed those criticisms Wednesday by saying his firm was growing and needed more offices.
"An office for a company is always an investment into a core asset," he said. Gazprom will move to St. Petersburg the head offices of its recently acquired oil unit Gazprom Neft, formerly Sibneft, and the newly-formed Baltic pipeline company.
The project, one of the most ambitious in modern Russia, comes as many firms move their head offices to St .Petersburg to help the home city of President Vladimir Putin boost tax revenues and catch up with the wealthy capital.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller told reporters the firm had shortlisted seven international architects to design a 300-meter building to fit into the historical landscape of St. Petersburg.
"Whoever wins, it will be a super-project. It will be a masterpiece," St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko told a news conference, promising to consult the city's inhabitants before taking a final decision.
"We are talking here about figures exceeding $600 million," said Miller, while Matviyenko added that the total investment by the world's biggest gas firm could be much bigger and go beyond the construction of only one skyscraper by 2010.
Minority investors have repeatedly criticized Gazprom for investments in noncore assets, ranging from yacht clubs to stables and pig farms.
But Miller rebuffed those criticisms Wednesday by saying his firm was growing and needed more offices.
"An office for a company is always an investment into a core asset," he said. Gazprom will move to St. Petersburg the head offices of its recently acquired oil unit Gazprom Neft, formerly Sibneft, and the newly-formed Baltic pipeline company.