Istanbul's evocative skyline is set to be capped by a new peak, as architects on Wednesday unveiled plans to build a tower almost 300 meters high, which will rival the highest buildings in Europe.

Scotland-based architectural firm RMJM's office in Dubai said that it received planning approval for "Metropol Istanbul," a vast 500,000 square meter project, which includes three towers, a 30,000 square meter public shopping mall, offices and luxury apartments.

Managing principal at RMJM, Chris Jones, said the tower complex would be "iconic and bring character to Istanbul," confirming that construction would conclude at the end of 2015. "There is nothing like this in Turkey yet… We could not be speaking about this kind of a project in any other part of Europe in this financial situation. This reflects the robust and confidence of Turkey's growing economy," Mr. Jones said in an interview.

The price tag for the complex, which will be located on Istanbul's Asian-side as a cornerstone of a new government-backed financial zone, is a cool 1.5 billion Turkish lira (over $800 million).

Photographs accompanying the press release showed that the towers would dominate the Asian side of the two-continent metropolis. Istanbul, estimated to house as many as 17 million people, does not currently have the skyscraper-laden skyline of many European business capitals. Its tallest buildings are on the district of Levent on European side of the city.