In Australian Melbourne, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere will be constructed

Melbourne - The second largest Australian city, Melbourne, plans to build the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Today, local authorities approved the construction of a 388-meter-high tower that will house apartments and a hotel. According to the number of floors, the building will be named Australia 108, and the government of the Australian state of Victoria announced that the construction will become the nineteenth tallest building in the world.
     "I am proud to approve the construction of a tower that will characterize our city in the coming years," announced Planning Minister Matthew Guy, as quoted by the AFP agency. The tower is expected to be completed in five years.
     Concerns had existed that the building would overshadow the war memorial Shrine of Remembrance, which is currently one of the city's most prominent monuments. However, Minister Guy stated that the memorial's administrators had no objections to the creation of the new skyscraper. The skyscraper will bring investments of 600 million Australian dollars (approximately 12.2 billion CZK) to the state of Victoria and create up to 300 new jobs.
     Architect Nonda Katsalidis stated that he was inspired by the stars on the Australian flag when designing the tall, slender building. The building will feature a six-star hotel with 288 rooms, shops, office spaces, and 646 apartments.
     "We don't have an Opera (like Sydney), but we have a diverse culture, and all these ideas have been incorporated into this project," Katsalidis told ABC radio station. "The hotel was designed as a starburst. We were inspired by the stars on the Australian flag," he added. A starburst is a shape intended to evoke the impression of rays of light.
     Currently, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 828 meters. Among European buildings, London's The Shard dominates with 310 meters.
     In the Southern Hemisphere, the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, currently leads at a height of 323 meters. However, the planned Australia 108 could soon be surpassed by the South African building Centurion Symbio City, which is set to rise to 447 meters and should be completed near Pretoria by 2018.