News: a 388-metre-high hotel and apartment building, which will be the tallest building in the southern hemisphere when completed, has been approved by planners in Melbourne, Australia.

The government of Victoria last week gave the go-ahead for Australia 108, designed by local architects Fender Katsaladis for a location in the Southbank area just a few streets away from another of its skyscrapers, the 297-metre-high Eureka Tower.

As well as 108 floors of apartments, the building will contain a luxury hotel and several restaurants and bars on its upper floors, plus a food market and cafe near ground level.

Melbourne's city council had originally opposed the project, fearing the 108-storey building would cast a shadow over the Shrine of Remembrance war memorial, but planning minister Matthew Guy said the project had now received endorsement from the memorial's trustees and met the city's planning conditions.

The building is due to be completed in 2018, but may not retain its title as the southern hemisphere's tallest for long, because an even taller skyscraper is set to complete in South Africa in the same year – the 447-metre-high Centurion-Symbio City tower in Tshwane.

The ten tallest skyscrapers due for completion in 2013 include a 383-metre-high tower in north-east China and an Abu Dhabi complex by Foster + Partners – see all skyscrapers.

Images are by Australia 108.