News Archive
Burj builder awarded controversial Russian tower
Released on 29/04/2008
Arabtec Construction of the United Arab Emirates announced Sunday that it had been issued a ‘letter of award’ from Gazprom Neft and the Mayor of St Petersburg to build the controversial, US$2.7bn Okhta Centre in Russia’s second-largest city.
Formerly known as Gazprom City, after the company behind the scheme, the Okhta Centre consists of a 400m tower and five other buildings over a common podium, plus ancillary work, all to be completed within 43 months.
The controversy comes from the height of the tower in the design provided by architects RMJM London Ltd. It is reported that buildings cannot be higher tan 48 metres in that part of the city.
Protests have come from various quarters including the St Petersburg Union of Architects and UNESCO, the latter because the area in question is a World Heritage Site.
Work will start soon on the project, Arabtec announced on Sunday.
This is the first stage of the planned complex known as Okhta Centre owned jointly by Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the Russian national Gas Company – Gaz prom and the City of St. Petersburg.
The project will include office space plus leisure and entertainment facilities as well as a library and a sports centre.
Arabtec’s press release said: “The selection of Arabtec Construction LLC came in a strong competition with Russian and European bidders and was based on the extensive experience that Arabtec has gained in recent years in the construction of high rise buildings in the United Arab Emirates including the Burj Dubai project, the tallest building in the world today, in which Arabtec is a J.V partner in the construction team that includes Samsung Engineering and Besix of Belgium.”
Riad Kamal, CEO of Arabtec said: “We are pleased and proud to be selected for the implementation of this giant project and we are certain that this selection has been done on the basis of our extensive experience and successful record of implementation of similar projects.”
Arabtec Construction is a subsidiary of Arabtec Holding PJSC.
