The iconic Merdeka 118, formerly known as KL118, will be delayed by more than six months, according to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.
Ahmad Zulqarnain told Bernama that Phase 1 and 2 of the Merdeka 118 precinct are expected to be ready by the second quarter (Q2) of 2022 instead of the end of 2021 as initially targeted.
He said there were delays caused by the Movement Control Order in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the requirements of the MCO, the Merdeka 118 construction site was shut down during the first three phases of the cordon sanitaire and gradually reopened from May 13, 2020, onwards, he said.
The Merdeka 118 precinct is developed and funded by PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNB, the country's biggest asset manager.
In September 2016, PNB Merdeka Ventures had said that the project is progressing within budget at RM5 billion, and was on track for completion by 2020.
"We are currently at Phase 1 of the development that involves the Merdeka 118 tower and the surrounding infrastructure. Our concrete core structure has reached its peak at Level 118 and our tower facade has reached Level 82," Ahmad Zulqarnain said.
Ahmad Zulqarnain said Phase 2, consisting of a retail mall and Merdeka Boulevard @ 118 linear park is in the early stages of construction.
He said it is envisioned that the level 118 floor slab will be completed after 2020.
He said the 'topping out' ceremony is expected to commemorate the Merdeka 118 tower reaching its peak level of 118 storeys high.
The tower is 60 per cent completed as of October 2020, he added.
Merdeka 118 will be the first building in Malaysia to satisfy the triple green building platinum accreditations locally and internationally, namely the Green Building Index (GBI), the Green Real Estate (GreenRE), and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
It was reported that PNB and its subsidiaries will take up 42 floors at Merdeka 118, while 14 floors are for amenities. Four floors will become observation decks and another 41 floors are for office rental.
The upper 17 floors of the tower will house Park Hyatt Hotel Kuala Lumpur, operated by Hyatt Hotels Corp. A signing ceremony between PNB Merdeka Venture and Hyatt Hotels was held in February 2018.
The five-star hotel will have 232 guest rooms, 28 suites, and 30 serviced apartments.
This leaves about 20 per cent of the total space of Merdeka 118, or about 500,000 sq ft, open for leasing.
Ahmad Zulqarnain said that PNB Merdeka Venture was in advanced negotiations with potential tenants and will continue to actively seek more property investors.
"Given the current global pandemic and economic situation, we understand that it will be a challenging time ahead for us within the property market. However, we see this as an opportunity to shift gears to be able to cater to the 'changed' office space demands that the new norm requires," he told Bernama.
Merdeka 118 upon its completion will be Malaysia's tallest building. At a height of 656 metres or 2,152 feet (measured from the ground to the tip of the tower's off-centre spire about 150m long), it will be taller than the 452m Petronas Twin Towers.
The tower along with Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower will be roughly standing on the same line.
The whole Merdeka 118 development is taking shape on a 7.6ha site of the former Merdeka Park (also known as Taman Tunku) next to Merdeka Stadium and Stadium Negara in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur.
The two stadiums will be retained as national heritage buildings.
The Merdeka Stadium is a historical landmark where the independence of Malaya was declared.
Merdeka 118 was designed by Australian architecture firm Fender Katsalidis Architects. One of the firm's best-known works is Eureka Tower, which is the tallest building in Melbourne.
The tower's off-centre spire is inspired by the raised right hand of Tunku Abdul Rahman (who is regarded as the founding father of Malaysia), representing the country's independence.
The first contract for the tower, worth RM74 million, went to Pintaras Geotechnics Sdn Bhd, a unit of Pintaras Jaya Bhd in 2014. The contract was to undertake the foundation works for Merdeka 118.
KONE Corp, which is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland, was awarded a contract to supply 105 energy-efficient elevators and escalators for the tower at an undisclosed contract sum.
In 2015, a consortium comprising UEM Group Bhd and South Korea's Samsung C&T Corp won an RM2.12 billion construction job for Merdeka 118. Samsung C&T, a subsidiary of Samsung Group, had previously won a contract for the Petronas Twin Towers, the World's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zulqarnain said that Phase 3 of the development, comprising three residential towers is due for completion only in 2024/2025.
He said that PNB Merdeka Ventures will defer the launch of the residential towers, originally slated for the end of this year, towards the end of 2021.
