ST. PETERSBURG — Plans to build a business tower for Gazprom Neft that would be visible from parts of historic St. Petersburg have been dealt a blow by city authorities, who have opted to sell their share in the project.
Opponents say the Okhta Center development would ruin the unique skyline of the city. State media and some officials have begun to express doubts after years of support.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been vague on the $3 billion project, saying it is up to the city to decide whether to go ahead with it.
A municipal official close to the deal said the city has now made its choice and sold its 22.7 percent in the project for almost 3 billion rubles ($100 million) to Gazprom Neft.
“Due to the financial crisis, there is a need to channel the money to more important infrastructure projects. The cash will replenish the 2010 city budget,” Eduard Batanov, a St. Petersburg official in charge of city financing, said Friday.
Gazprom Neft, which plans to build the 403-meter tower by 2016 to house its offices, confirmed on Friday that it had used its pre-emptive right to acquire the stake and paid 2.95 billion rubles for it.
The company said it would go ahead with the plan to build the tower regardless of the city’s participation.
The United Nations cultural organization UNESCO has warned that it could put St. Petersburg on a list of endangered World Heritage sites if the tower is built.
Dubai’s Arabtec Holding won the contract to build the first stage of the tower in April 2008.