The Merdeka 118 development is funded by Permodalan Nasional Berhad, with a budget of RM5 billion. When completed in 2021, the tower will be the tallest building in Malaysia. It will consist of of residential, hotel and commercial space. The building will consist of 100 storeys of rentable space, including 83 storeys of office space, 12 storeys of hotel rooms, 5 storeys of hotel residences and a retail business center. 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 storeys of office space will be reserved for Permodalan Nasional Berhad, the developer of the project, and its subsidiaries.
Site
The tower is sited at Petaling Hill, a low-density hill directly southeast of the historic Kuala Lumpur old town, on the location of the former Merdeka Park. The site lies within the vicinity of a number of historic landmarks with little modern development: Independence-era sporting venues including the Merdeka Stadium, the National Stadium and the Chin Woo Stadium, the pre-war school grounds of the Methodist Boys' School and Victoria Institution and the stalled Plaza Rakyat project. The Merdeka 118 development, when completed, will also have access to the newly built MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line excavated underneath the southern end of Kuala Lumpur old town.
Design
The tower is designed with a mixture of diamond shaped facets to signify the diversity of Malaysians. The glass and steel building with its spire is said to resemble the raised hand of Tunku Abdul Rahman when he proclaimed independence at Stadium Merdeka. It will contain a shopping complex, offices, and residential areas. The structural engineers are Leslie E. Robertson Associates and Robert Bird Group. Environmental Design and Engineering firm Neapoli Group was employed to provide consultancy services towards achieving Platinum rating with three Green Building certification bodies: LEED, Green Building Index and GreenRE.. The 4 top floors will a be used as observation deck/museum space.
Progress
The piling and foundation work for the project was awarded to Pintaras Geotechnics Sdn Bhd. Permodalan Nasional Bhd shortlisted six groups for various construction jobs such as Samsung C&T-UEM Group Bhd, IJM Corp Bhd-Norwest Holdings Sdn Bhd- Shimizu Corp, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd-China State Construction Engineering Corp, WCT Bhd-Arabtec Construction LLC, TSR Capital Bhd-Daewoo Group, and Seacera Group Bhd-Spaz Sdn Bhd-Sinohydro Corp-Shanghai Construction Group. These companies submitted their bids by January 28, 2015. KONE, a Finnish group, is supplying around 87 elevators and escalators for the project. On 23 November 2015, PNB announced a contract worth RM 3.4 Billion has been awarded to the joint venture of South Korea's Samsung C&T and UEM Group Bhd. 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 COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in mid-May 2020.
Criticism
Many have criticised this project, claiming that it is wasteful and the RM5 billion funds could have been used for other causes like healthcare or education. In response to the criticism, the former Prime MinisterNajib Tun Razak claimed that the project was not a waste and will bring more benefits by generating economic opportunities.
