The Dubai developer Nakheel – the company that created man-made islands in the shapes of a palm tree and the world – said the structure would be the centre-piece of an inner-city harbour planned as the emirate’s unofficial capital.

It would not comment on the exact height or cost of the Islamic design-inspired Nakheel Tower. The building will have “more than 200 floors” and be part of “a multi-billion pound development”, the company said.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, a cautious Nakheel chief executive officer, Christopher O’Donnell, said: “From our perspective, we are building a tower that’s going to be over a kilometre in height. This is a complete iconic development. It may be the tallest.”

The tower and harbour project will take more than 10 years to complete. Apart from the landmark structure, there will be another 40 towers, ranging in height from 20 floors to 90 floors. The entire development will be home to more than 55,000 people and a workplace for more than 45,000.

Dubai said Sunday it is embarking on an even more ambitious skyscraper: one that will soar the length of more than 10 American football fields.

That’s about two-thirds of a mile or the height of more than three of New York’s Chrysler Buildings stacked end-to-end.

The tower, which will take more than a decade to complete, will be the centerpiece of a sprawling development state-owned builder Nakheel plans to create in the rapidly growing “New Dubai” section of the city. Foundation work has already begun, O’Donnell said.

About 150 elevators will carry residents and workers to the Nakheel Tower’s more than 200 floors, the company said. The building will be composed of four separate towers joined at various levels and centered on an open atrium.

The company said the new project is inspired by Islamic design and draws inspiration from sites such as the Alhambra in Spain and the harbor of Alexandria in Egypt.

“There is nothing like it in Dubai,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Nakheel’s chairman.

Perhaps not quite. But Dubai is already home to the world’s tallest building, even if it remains unfinished.

That skyscraper, the Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower in Arabic, is being built by Nakheel’s chief competitor, Emaar Properties.