Merdeka 118 Tower set to open mid-2023

Towering pride: Members of the media checking on the work progress of Merdeka 118 Tower in Kuala Lumpur. ­— FAIHAN GHANI/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The Merdeka 118 Tower, touted as the world’s second tallest building, is due for completion by mid-2023, according to the developer.

PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud said the rate of construction was currently on track, reaching 92%.

“The offices can move in first while the hotel will be (ready) by the third quarter of next year,” he told reporters after a tour of the Merdeka 118 development.

The Merdeka 118 tower will be the region’s tallest at 678.9m. The figure 118 represents the number of floors in the building.

Spanning over 3.1 million sq ft of floor area, the Merdeka 118 tower includes 1.7 million sq ft of net lettable area of premium Grade-A rentable office space. The top 17 floors will house the first and only Park Hyatt Hotel in Malaysia.

Ab Aziz said PNB Merdeka Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), was targeting a tenancy of 70% local companies and 30% multinational companies to occupy the offices.

“PNB and its subsidiaries will go in first. For the rest, we are working on it. The tenancy list will be announced later,” he added.

He said a must-visit attraction at the Merdeka 118 tower was at Level 116 (mezzanine), where South-East Asia’s highest observation deck is located.

Tickets will be sold online for those who are interested in a super view of Kuala Lumpur’s skyline.