Melbourne will soon be home to the new tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere — Australia 108, a 388-meter, $622 million skyscraper that was green-lighted for construction last week by Victoria’s minister of planning, according to CNN.
Construction on the futuristic-looking, 108-story tower is slated to begin in 2014.
It was designed by architects at Fender Katsalidis, and the look was inspired by the star on Australia’s flag, according to the building’s website.
The top of the building will be home to a six-star, 288-room hotel, with a lobby, restaurants, bars, and lounges on the 84th floor.
The rest of Australia 108 will contain apartments and luxury facilities, including a theatre, pool, and gym.
Melbourne’s city council originally opposed the project amid fears that it would cast a shadow on a nearby war memorial, according to design blog Dezeen. But it later received the endorsement of the memorial’s trustees, Dezeen noted.
The building faces some competition: A tower slated to open in South Africa the same year should clock in at 447 meters, according to The Guardian.
The proposed 388-metre skyscraper set to go up in the Melbourne skyline is already running into problems according to Fairfax, which is reporting that the building would interfere with airport airspace if completed.
The 108-storey building reportedly approved by planning officials is said to breach what is known as PANSOPS rules. In plain English, they’re guidelines for the departure from and arrival into airports by aircraft. Turns out that the Australia 108 tower would breach PANSOPS regulations pertaining to Essendon Airport which is 13-kilometres away from the site.
If the tower is completed, craft would have to find new routes around the Melbourne CBD to avoid the building.
Those involved with the project, however, have allayed the concerns saying that all appropriate permits have been acquired and legislation has been complied with.
Check out this glossy rendering of the project, via Australia 108:
Originally published on Business Insider Australia