Gazprom's St. Petersburg Skyscraper Cost $1.8 Billion, Tallest in Europe by Far

Thr 462 meter tower cost more than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

Construction of the 462-meter Lakhta Center skyscraper in St. Petersburg officially came to a close on Monday when city authorities announced that they had included the building into Russia’s property register, six years after the start of construction.

Located in northern St. Petersburg, the 87-story building is expected to become the headquarters of Russia’s Gazprom gas giant, along with its oil subsidiary, Gazprom Neft. According to Forbes, Gazprom Neft is also listed as the owner of the building — the tallest in Russia and in Europe.

Russia’s Federal Service of State Registration included the skyscraper in its databases on Monday after officials completed the necessary inventory inspections, Interfax reported.

The Lakhta Center Facebook page published a one-minute time lapse video of the six-year construction process on Sunday.

https://www.facebook.com/lakhtacenter.ru/videos/2248758808702893/

The building is expected to hold its official opening ceremony in the second half of 2019, after renovations of its 87 floors is completed. It will house offices, a science and education center, exhibition space, a sports center, medical center, children's science theme park and a viewing platform, as well as a number of cafes, stores and entertainment venues, including movie theaters and skating rinks.

Interfax estimated the total cost of the building as 100 billion rubles ($1.52 billion).

When St. Petersburg authorities approved the construction of the Lakhta Center in 2012, local politicians and city heritage activists appealed to then-Governor Georgy Poltavchenko to reduce the height of the planned skyscraper, fearing that it would ruin views and endanger the city’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The newly built 87-story headquarters of Russia’s Gazprom gas giant in St. Petersburg – now the tallest skyscraper in Europe – has reportedly surpassed the construction costs of Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa.

After six years of construction, Gazprom’s Lakhta Center was included in Russia’s property registry in mid-October. The authorization launched the countdown for the business center to open its doors to the public next year.

At 120.7 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) by end of March 2018, the cost of Lakhta Center has surpassed the $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest structure, Interfax reported Thursday.

Lakhta Tower also pulled ahead of Malaysia’s $1 billion Petronas Twin Towers and London’s $1.5 billion Shard skyscraper in terms of costs, Interfax said.

The price tag reportedly puts Lakhta Tower behind six of the world’s priciest high-rises, including the world’s most expensive building, the $15-billion Abraj Al-Bait in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

There is no official record of Lakhta Tower’s construction costs, according to Interfax, which reports that its only source of funding is loans from Gazprom’s fast-growing oil subsidiary Gazprom Neft.

Standing at 462 meters with its pointed tip high above the clouds, the skyscraper has overtaken Moscow’s 370-meter Federation Tower as Europe’s tallest building.

It will house offices, a science and education center, exhibition space, a sports center, medical center, children's science theme park and a viewing platform, as well as a number of cafes, stores and entertainment venues, including movie theaters and skating rinks.

Source: The Moscow Times