Besides theme parks, news of mega-towers reaching for the sky have appeared quite frequently of late. The latest addition to the list of skyscrapers is the Merdeka PNB118 Tower.

Malaysia already has the world’s tallest twin towers in the form of the majestic Petronas Twin Towers right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, dominating the capital city’s skyline, but that stunning view is set to change when the Merdeka PNB118 Tower is completed.

Formerly known as Warisan Merdeka or KL118, the skyscraper was renamed Merdeka PNB118 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during its launch. The 118-story tower is part of a 19-acre, mixed-use development set between some of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic historial landmarks with an estimated cost of RM5 billion. The entire development will be built in three phases, with the first phase comprising the tower and 7-floor shopping mall scheduled to complete in 2020, and the remaining second and third phases fully complete by 2024.

Merdeka PNB118 will become the global headquarters for developer Permodalan Nasional Berhad which will occupy 60 floors of the building. The sky scraper will have 23 levels of rentable commercial space and a 236-key, 18-story luxury hotel with multiple sky lobbies and observation decks.

Source: Wall Street Journal

As the name suggests, Merdeka PNB118 Tower will have 118 storeys from the ground up, with five floors below ground, presumably for parking. Standing at 2,067 ft (630m), it will be Malaysia’s tallest building, surpassing the Petronas Twin Towers (452m) and KL Tower (420m). The high-rise, designed by Australia-based firm Fender Katsalidis Architects, is set to become the world’s fifth tallest building and will add to Kuala Lumpur’s attractiveness as an investment and tourist destination. It is expected to contribute as much as RM11 billion to the local economy, and create over 10,000 employment opportunities across hundreds of industries.

Artist impression of the Merdeka PNB118 Tower

For those concerned about the environment, you can rest (slightly more) easy. The tower will be the first building in Malaysia to achieve a triple green building platinum accreditation by local and foreign bodies, including the Green Building Index (GBI) and LEED. In the same vein, the tower will be easily accesible by public transport, as it will be connected via the upcoming Merdeka MRT station, as well as the Maharajalela monorail station – which will connect it to the rest of the LRT network.

So now you have it – all you need to know about the mega-tower rising up in the middle of Kuala Lumpur.