Southeast Asia’s tallest building to open mid-2023
Southeast Asia’s tallest building – and No 2 in the world – is due for completion by mid-2023, according to the developer.
Construction of Merdeka 118 Tower in Kuala Lumpur is on track and 92 per cent complete, says PNB Merdeka Ventures CEO Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud.
“The offices can be moved into first while the hotel will be [ready] by the third quarter of next year,” he told reporters after a tour of the building, which dwarfs all other skyscrapers in the region.
Merdeka 118 tops out at 678.9 metres, grabbing the title of Southeast Asia’s tallest building from Landmark 81 in Ho Chi Minh City – a mere 461.2 metres high.
By comparison, Bangkok’s highest skyscraper, Magnolia’s Waterfront Residences, squats ninth on the list of Southeast Asia’s tallest buildings at just 318 metres.
Merdeka means independence while 118 represents the number of floors in the building.
Boasting over 3.1 million square feet of floor area, the Merdeka 118 tower includes 1.7 million sq ft of rentable office space. The top 17 floors will house the first Park Hyatt Hotel in Malaysia.
Ab Aziz said PNB Merdeka Ventures, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-owned Permodalan Nasional investment company, was targeting a tenancy mix of 70 per cent local companies and 30 per cent multinational companies.
“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 the Level 116 mezzanine, where Southeast Asia’s highest observation deck is located.
Tickets will be sold online for anyone interested in getting a super view of Kuala Lumpur’s skyline.
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