It is the 1st tower in the country to receive triple platinum green ratings in international sustainability certification and the prestigious WELL certification

by NUR HANANI AZMAN / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

THE construction of Merdeka 118 will benefit Malaysian Family as it will be a new economic catalyst for Kuala Lumpur (KL), while complementing other rapidly developing areas like KLCC and KL Sentral.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (picture; centre) said the development of Merdeka 118 will provide opportunities to the local community, especially in nearby areas such as Petaling Street, Kampung Attap and Pudu, to generate the economy.

“Merdeka 118 also carries the spirit of Malaysian Family because the local community can also hold programmes or activities to increase the attractiveness of the surrounding area through the Merdeka 118 community grant programme.

“Grant applications were opened from June 28 to August 20, 2021, where Malaysian Family could apply for three types of grants, namely sports, arts and business,” he said at the Merdeka 118 tower spire completion ceremony yesterday.

PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), celebrated a significant milestone for the Merdeka 118 development with the completion of its tower spire, creating a new focal point in the already distinctive KL skyline.

The tower now stands as the second tallest building in the world and the tallest building in South-East Asia at a height of 678.9m.

Ismail Sabri said the construction of Merdeka 118 amid the Covid-19 pandemic marks a great engineering achievement for the country and reinforces Malaysia’s position as a modern and developed nation.

“Merdeka 118 is the first tower in the country to receive triple platinum green ratings in international sustainability certification as well as the prestigious WELL certification.

“The WELL Building Standard takes a holistic approach to health in the built environment addressing behaviour, operations and design. This makes Merdeka 118 the industry benchmark in Malaysia as an iconic tower of the future,” he added.

PNB group chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said Merdeka 118 Precinct is a “stadia land” property which includes Stadium Merdeka, Stadium Negara and more “vacant land” that PNB purchased in 2000.

“Previously, the Merdeka 118 Precinct area had no economic activities despite its strategic location as economic activities were limited to events hosted at the stadiums.

“PNB believes that Merdeka 118 Precinct is an asset property with high potential, thus, the development of this precinct is intended to increase the value of investments in real estate asset classes, to generate stable longterm returns to PNB,” he said.

PNB president and group CEO Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said the construction of the Merdeka 118 tower has reached 85% completion with tower floor installation reaching level 118 and glass panel installation up to level 114.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, I am happy to report that the tower and the surrounding infrastructure upgrades are on track for completion by late 2022.

“We will build three residential towers that will be launched in 2023 — two of which are Merdeka Residences and Oakwood Premier Serviced Residence,” he said.

Spanning over 3.1 million sq ft of floor area, Merdeka 118 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.

Among the tower’s unique features include The View at 118, the highest observation deck in South-East Asia, and the glass-domed 118 Mall within the podium of the tower.

Just outside is the Merdeka Boulevard at 118, a linear park comprising over 1.6ha of open space with greenery and water features.

Other components of the Merdeka 118 Precinct include the Merdeka Textile Museum showcasing Malay-world textile, the Little M, a PNB Childcare Centre, and Masjid Merdeka, a mosque that can accommodate up to 3,000 people.

Setting new benchmarks in sustainability, the Merdeka 118 tower will be the first building in the country to earn a triple platinum rating with international sustainability certifications, namely Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Green Real Estate and Green Building Index.