EU's tallest skyscraper may be built in Madrid

The skyscraper would have 70 floors and be based in the Chamartín neighbourhood, near the station of the same name and towering above Madrid's current tallest block - the Torre de Cristal ('glass tower'), part of the pictured Cuatro Torres ('four towers') complex, which has 52 floors.

Developer Distrito Castellana Norte, or DCN, run by chief executive officer Antonio Béjar, wants to create a complex with six towers to 'recreate Madrid's skyscape' and put the Spanish capital on the map alongside other dynamic, modern European cities.

All paperwork and permits are in place, except planning permission from the city council, after 20 years of processing, Béjar reveals.

Distrito Castellana Norte is owned by the BBVA bank, which holds 75.5% of its shares, and building company San José, a 24.5% shareholder.

Its project would involve extending the north end of Madrid's main business boulevard, the Paseo de la Castellana, as far as the M-40 ringroad, by adding on 3.7 kilometres, and build a residential complex of just under 18,000 homes with various parks and gardens within it.

The housing estate would be 50% the size of Madrid's iconic Retiro Park, occupying well over 300 hectares.

Around 120,000 temporary jobs would be created in building the towers and the housing complex, and involve a €6 billion investment which would bring in €3.3bn to the city council in tax.

Only one-fifth of the residential estate would be taken up with properties themselves, to include offices and shops - the bulk of it would be landscaped gardens and public parks.

It could even include extra metro stations and outer suburban train lines being built to serve it.

Polls claim an average of eight in 10 Madrid residents, including those living close to or in the Chamartín neighbourhood, think the plans are a great idea.