UNESCO gives St Petersburg tower "yellow card"

MOSCOW, Sept 1 (Reuters) St Petersburg is at risk of being placed on UNESCO's list of endangered world heritage sites because of a plan to build a skyscraper near the historic centre, a senior official with the UN body said.

Russian state-controlled gas firm Gazprom wants to build a glass and steel tower nearly as tall as Paris's Eiffel Tower near the centre of Russia's second city, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The plan has caused an outcry, with critics saying the project will ruin the city's low-rise skyline of canals, cathedrals and Baroque mansions.

Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, the UN's cultural body, yesterday said Russia has until Feberuary. 1, 2008, to submit a detailed report on the project's impact, or later face sanctions.

''If it is like in football, a yellow card,'' Barbosa told a news conference on a visit to Moscow. ''If the situation does not change we will seriously be considering putting the site on the list of sites that are in danger,'' Barbosa said. ''Being placed on the ... list is a risk today.'' Barbosa said the ultimate sanction would be to strip St Petersburg of its designation as a World Heritage Site. But he said he hoped it would not come to that.

Gazprom, the St Petersburg authorities and UNESCO officials are to meet for talks on September. 13. ''(The talks) will be fundamental in trying to convince them to find alternatives,'' said Barbosa.

The UNESCO body that monitors World Heritage sites earlier this year asked for a suspension of all work on the Gazprom tower until the report on its impact had been presented.

St Petersburg is Russia's former imperial capital and is still seen by many Russians as the country's cultural heart. It is also the hometown of President Vladimir Putin.

The project's backers say the tower will bring much-needed investment to a neglected corner of the city and that the design will complement surrounding architecture.

Barbosa said a decision on whether to put St Petersburg on the endangered list or strip it of its World Heritage status would not be taken before the middle of next year, when UNESCO member states gather for their annual congress.

REUTERS GT RK0905