Merdeka 118, formerly known as Warisan Merdeka Tower and KL 118, is a 118-storey, 678.9-metre-tall megatall skyscraper in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is the world's second-tallest structure, surpassing the

Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010world's second tallest building, surpassing the

Shanghai Tower Shanghai Tower () is a 128-story, megatall skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai.

at , but still shorter than the Burj Khalifa at , which is the current

tallest building in the world This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Nonbuilding structure, Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see ''List of tallest ...

. The building's name, ''Merdeka'' (which means 'independence'), is inspired by its proximity to

Stadium Merdeka The Stadium Merdeka (also known as Merdeka Stadium/; English: Independence Stadium) is a stadium based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as the site of the formal declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957. ...

. The spire of the building was completed in November 2021. As of December 2022, Merdeka 118 is already 95% completed. It is the tallest building in Malaysia and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. It surpassed the

Petronas Twin Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, ( Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially desig ...

as the tallest building in Malaysia and surpassed the

Landmark 81 Landmark 81 is a supertall skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The investor and primary developer for the project is Vinhomes, a Vietnamese corporation that is also the country's largest real-estate company. Landmark 81 is the tallest buil ...

as the tallest building in

, taking these titles by virtue of its tall

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

. The building will also be the first in Malaysia to receive a triple platinum rating from worldwide sustainability certifications, including the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Background

The Merdeka 118 (the whole precinct's) development is a 19-acre land funded by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB),PM: 118-storey Warisan Merdeka to generate economic opportunities for all
TheStar.com.my with a budget of RM5 billion ( US$ billion).RM5bil Warisan Merdeka will be country's new landmark
TheStar.com.my When completed in 2023, the tower will be the tallest building in Malaysia. It is planned to be constructed in three phases and will consist of of residential, hotel and commercial space. The building will consist of 100 stories of rentable space, including 83 stories of office space, 12 stories of hotel rooms, 5 stories of hotel residences, and an observatory floor which will be the highest observation deck in Southeast Asia. It has two observation decks, the first inside the building and the second inside the spire, and a retail business center (

118 Mall 118 Mall, previously known as MERDEKA @ 118, is a seven-storey glass domed shopping mall currently under construction located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The name "118" was derived from the number of floors in the Merdeka 118 tower having at least 1 ...

). It will be surrounded by four acres of urban and linear parks. The non-rentable space consists of elevators, recreational and maintenance facilities, as well as parking spaces for up to 8,500 cars. 60 out of the 80 stories of office space will be reserved for Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), the developer of the project, and its subsidiaries.

Site

The building is situated on Petaling Hill, on the location of the former Merdeka Park (subsequently repurposed into an open-air car park). The site lies within the vicinity of landmarks such as

Petaling Street Petaling Street ( Malay: ''Jalan Petaling'', Simplified Chinese: 茨厂街, Traditional Chinese: 茨廠街, pinyin: Cíchǎng Jiē, Cantonese jyutping: ci4 cong2 gaai1) is a Chinatown located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The whole vicinity is als ...

, sporting venues including

Merdeka Stadium The Stadium Merdeka (also known as Merdeka Stadium/; English: Independence Stadium) is a stadium based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as the site of the formal declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957. ...

, and the stalled Plaza Rakyat project (across the Ampang Line). The Merdeka 118 development, when completed, will also have access to the newly built

Merdeka MRT Station ta, மெர்டேக்கா , type = Rapid transit station , image = File:The decorative element of the staircase of Merdeka MRT station.jpg , image_caption = The interior design of the station incorporates the theme of "independence" ...

on the Kajang Line (SBK) and be directly linked from three major roads via the Belfield Tunnel, which will be a 2-storey underground tunnel passing underneath Kampung Attap and Jalan Maharajalela to the basement of the precinct.

Design

The building is designed with a mixture of diamond-shaped glass facades to signify the diversity of Malaysians. The design was made to resemble and inspired by

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

's outstretched hand gesture while chanting "'' Merdeka!''", when he proclaimed the

independence of Malaysia Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...

on 31 August 1957. The building's cladding will comprise 18,144 panels, 114,000 square-meter of glass, and 1,600 tonnes of window frame extrusions. It will contain the

, Grade-A offices, hotels, and residential areas. The structural engineers are Leslie E. Robertson Associates and Robert Bird Group while the civil and structural engineer of record for this tower is Arup. The building will be equipped and illuminated at night with 8.4 km of LED light strips which would gradually move from one corner to another. The Neapoli Group, an environmental design and engineering firm, was employed to provide consultancy services towards achieving platinum rating with three Green Building certification bodies: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Green Building Index and GreenRE.

Floor plans

All of the floor plans were obtained from the building's proposals and are subject to change.

Height

The height of the spire, crown, roof, top floor, observation and residential towers of Merdeka 118.

Progress

The piling and foundation work for the project was awarded to Pintaras Geotechnics Sdn Bhd. The Permodalan Nasional Berhad shortlisted six groups for various construction jobs:

Samsung C&T Samsung C&T Corporation ("Construction & Trading Corporation"; formerly Samsung Corporation; Korean: 삼성물산), is a South Korean construction and engineering company. It was founded in 1938 as the first Samsung company and was initially in ...

and

UEM Group UEM Group Berhad (formerly United Engineers Malaysia Berhad) or UEM Group is a Malaysian engineering-based infrastructure and services company with four key businesses namely Expressways; Township & Property Development; Engineering & Constructi ...

Bhd; IJM Corp Bhd, Norwest Holdings Sdn Bhd, and Shimizu Corp; Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd and State Construction Engineering Corp; WCT Bhd and Arabtec Construction LLC; TSR Capital Bhd and Daewoo Group; Seacera Group Bhd with Spaz Sdn Bhd, Sinohydro Corp, and Shanghai Construction Group. These companies submitted their bids by January 28, 2015.

KONE Kone Oyj (; officially stylized as KONE and trading as KONE Corporation) is an elevator engineering company employing over 60,000 personnel across 60 countries worldwide. It was founded in 1910 and is now headquartered in Espoo near Helsinki, F ...

, a Finnish group, is supplying around 87 elevators and escalators for the project. On 23 November 2015, PNB announced a contract worth RM3.4 billion has been awarded to the joint venture of South Korea's Samsung C&T and UEM Group Berhad. Furthermore, on 9 November 2017, PNB planned to raise up to RM5 billion fund for its project via a green

sukuk Sukuk ( ar, صكوك, ṣukūk; plural of ar, صك, ṣakk, legal instrument, deed, cheque, links=no) is the Arabic name for financial certificates, also commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. Sukuk are defined by the AAOIFI ( Acco ...

, the Merdeka Asean Green SRI Sukuk, with a 15-year tenure. The sukuk covered the development of its 83-storey office space, which forms part of the tower. It is the first adopter of the Asean Green Bond Standards launched by the

Securities Commission Malaysia The Securities Commission Malaysia ( ms, Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia) is a Malaysian statutory body with responsibility for development and regulation of capital markets in the country. It is located in Bukit Kiara near the National Science Ce ...

that validates PNB commitment to develop the project as a sustainable and environmentally-friendly project. On 27 February 2018, it was announced that Park Hyatt will open up a hotel in Merdeka 118. The Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur will occupy the top 17 floors of the building; It is slated to have 232 units, including 28 suites and 30 apartments. The construction was halted on 18 March 2020 due to the Movement Control Order in Malaysia caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

in the country, but works resumed in mid-May 2020. In early August 2020, the building's concrete core topped out at 118 floors surpassing the Vincom

as the tallest building in Southeast Asia. On 25 October 2020, PNB president, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, announced that Phases 1 and 2 are expected to be finished in 2022 Q3. Phase 3 is expected to be completed in 2024 or 2025. The construction is currently in Phase 1, which focuses on the tower. As of 8 June 2021, the tower was at 81% completion, with the installation of the glass façade in progress at Level 108 and has successfully reached Level 118 with its spire already 50% assembled along with the retail podium. Turner International plays the role of Project Management Consultant for this complex development.https://www.investkl.gov.my/Relevant_News-@-Malaysia_Begins_Construction_of_the_Country%E2%80%99s_Tallest_Skyscraper.aspx The tower was topped out in November 2021.

Criticism

Many Malaysians have criticized this project, adding that it is unnecessary and a waste of "public funds", having been funded by the Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), a state-owned enterprise of the Malaysian government. Amounting to more than RM5 billion, it is said that the money could have been better used for other practical causes, such as education and healthcare, which has been increasingly deteriorating in the country. In response to the criticism, former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Najib Razak, who would eventually be directly involved with the 1MDB scandal, claimed that the project was not a waste and it would "bring more benefits" by generating "economic opportunities".

Transportation

The building will be served by the Kajang Line's

Merdeka MRT station ta, மெர்டேக்கா , type = Rapid transit station , image = File:The decorative element of the staircase of Merdeka MRT station.jpg , image_caption = The interior design of the station incorporates the theme of "independence" ...

located along

Jalan Hang Jebat Like all other historical urban centres, the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, contains a number of current and old roads and streets across the city. This article contains an alphabetical list of notable roads within ...

, which is connected to an interchange with the Ampang/Sri Petaling Line's Plaza Rakyat LRT station. It will also be accessible from the

Maharajalela Monorail station Maharajalela Monorail station is a Malaysian elevated monorail train station that forms a part of the Kuala Lumpur Monorail (KL Monorail) line located in Kuala Lumpur and opened alongside the rest of the train service on 31 August 2003. The Mah ...

connected through the precinct's linear park under the development. The Hang Tuah station, serving both the Ampang Line and

KL Monorail The KL Monorail Line is one of the operational monorail systems in Malaysia. Operated as part of the RapidKL system by Rapid Rail, a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it is one of the components of the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System. Th ...

, is a 600-metre walk southeast.

Gallery

File:KL118 construction site November 2016.jpg, Foundation works, 2016 File:PNB 118, Kuala Lumpur.jpg, December 2018 File:Merdeka PNB 118, Kuala Lumpur.jpg, July 2019 File:Kuala Lumpur. Merdeka 118. 2019-11-30 20-54-46.jpg, November 2019 File:PNB 118 in 02 2020 1.jpg, February 2020 File:Observatory Deck view of the city at Kuala Lumpur Tower (Menara KL), Malaysia on 28 July 2020 at 143028.jpg, July 2020 File:PNB118 in September 2021.png, September 2021 File:Merdeka 118 under construction at night.jpg, The tower at night, October 2021 File:PNB118 facing the north side.png, The glass elevator shaft in the middle overlooking downtown Kuala Lumpur from

File:Merdeka118.jpg, Telephoto shot at dusk of the almost completed spire from the east, November 2021 File:Merdeka 118 filled with cork was taken at Kuala Lumpur Tower.jpg, Surrounded by clouds, as seen from

Kuala Lumpur Tower Kuala Lumpur Tower, also known as KL Tower and KL421 is a 15-story, 420.7-meter-tall telecommunication tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the world's 7th tallest tower, also, Malaysia and Southeast Asia's tallest tower. Its construction w ...

, February 2022 File:KL- Merdeka 118 (June 2022).jpg, June 2022, viewed from Changkat Bukit Bintang. File:KL skyline from Bandar Sunway.jpg, The towering Merdeka 118 in the distant background, as seen from a high rise residential building in Bandar Sunway. The Exchange 106 and Menara Telekom are also visible. Photo taken in August 2022.

References

{{Supertall skyscrapers Buildings and structures under construction in Malaysia Postmodern architecture in Malaysia Residential skyscrapers in Malaysia Skyscraper hotels in Kuala Lumpur Skyscraper office buildings in Kuala Lumpur Skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur