The US$ 2.61 billion Hermitage Plaza Towers to be built in Paris La Defense business district have received planning permission and work on the site will start imminently, Emin Iskenderov, chief executive of development company Hermitage Group, said on March 9, during his interview to Wall Street Journal.

Hermitage Group, a Paris-based private company with Russian origins, will start clearing the site for the two 320-meter-tall skyscrapers this month. The project will cost a total of US$ 2 billion, with US$ 916 million in bank debt arranged with four banks at a cost of 6.5 percent, and US$ 394 million of equity coming from Hermitage Group itself. The remaining US$ 1.3 billion will be financed through sales of apartments and offices.

The Paris real-estate market, which was hit by the financial crisis in 2008, still hasn't recovered completely, and overall property prices remain below their 2007 peak. But Mr. Iskenderov is confident he can raise the US$ 1.3 billion portion needed through sales of apartments and offices as Hermitage Plaza will be La Defense's first building to offer mixed-use space. Hermitage Group will start selling the apartments in a year's time and expects a minimum price of US$ 15.7 thousand per square meter.

Hermitage Plaza, designed by U.K.- based architects Foster and Partners, will provide 280 thousand square meters of mixed-use space, housing a five-star hotel, 543 apartments, 35 thousand square meters of offices and 50 thousand square meters of retail and restaurants. The Hermitage Towers will be 200 meters from La Defense's main transport links and will also provide 20 thousand square meters of public space.