MELBOURNE'S skyline is set for a dramatic redrawing with the Baillieu government poised to approve a soaring 71-level residential tower that would dwarf almost every other building in the city.

Tower Melbourne's Singapore-based developers believe the ''super high-rise'' will be a city-defining project and an iconic landmark. But the building, which will sit atop the hill at the south-east corner of Queen and Bourke streets, also has strident critics, with one senior Melbourne councillor labelling it a ''blight''.

The tower would stand 220 metres, making it the tallest residential building in the central business district. Eureka Tower, on Southbank, is 297 metres or 92 storeys.

In the past few weeks it has been heavily marketed to cashed-up Chinese investors, who consider Melbourne a safe place to park new-found wealth.