MELBOURNE, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's fourth richest person, casino mogul James Packer, has resurrected a plan to build the tallest skyscraper in Melbourne.
Packer, who owns the majority stake in Crown Casino, has resubmitted a plan to build an apartment complex said to be 317.3 meters tall that would cost in excess of 1.10 billion U.S. dollars to construct.
The 90-storey complex includes a 41-meter-long "sky bridge" linking the new building with its two six-star hotels, allowing guests to cross between the structures without returning to ground level.
The tower's original plan, which was submitted two weeks before the Victorian election last year, was six storeys shorter.
But with the election of Andrews'government, Packer -- a rumoured backer of the party -- has had the plans redesigned by British architects Wilkinson Eyre.
Packer, who Forbes estimated is worth 3.41 billion U.S. dollars earlier this year, said the proposed tower was "a beautiful and elegant building that is destined to be an important addition to the Melbourne skyline".
Victoria's Planning Minister Richard Wynne said on Monday the plan was a "vote of confidence" for investment in Melbourne.
The Victorian government last month introduced interim restrictions on the height of future skyscrapers as a means of reducing aerial density in the city's skyline.
Developers are now restricted to building structures with less than 24 storeys, unless they can provide sufficient density offsets to build higher.
But Packer's "super-tower" proposal has already met with strong opposition.
RMIT planning expert Michael Buxton told Melbourne radio on Monday that Melbourne didn't need another "tower of power" detracting from the city's charm.
"There have been periodic attempts to get this kind of huge tower approved in Melbourne -- they've all failed," Buxton said.
"The recent height controls in Melbourne are designed to prevent this kind of huge construction and they should be adhered to."
"The development of high-rise projects such as this destroys the character of Melbourne (and) turns it into another Hong Kong."
Residents have vowed to fight the building of the tower, believing it breaches height restrictions imposed by the previous Liberal government.
