Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Merdeka 118 is a 118-storey supertall skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, reaching 678.9 metres (2,227 ft) of architectural height, which makes it the world's second-tallest building after the Burj Khalifa and the tallest in Southeast Asia. It was developed by PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad, and designed by Australian firm Fender Katsalidis with Malaysia's RSP Architects. First announced in September 2007 as Menara Warisan Merdeka and built over nearly nine years by a Samsung C&T-UEM joint venture, it topped out on 30 November 2021 after overtaking Shanghai Tower. The tower stands beside Stadium Merdeka, where Tunku Abdul Rahman declared independence on 31 August 1957, an event its diamond-faceted, keris-inspired facade evokes. It was officially inaugurated on 10 January 2024 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, opened its Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur hotel in August 2025, and has its 118 Mall and observation decks scheduled to open in the second half of 2026.
Menara Warisan Merdeka (Warisan Merdeka Tower)
2007-2014, the name used at the project's September 2007 announcement and through the early design and enabling-works stage
KL118 / PNB118
circa 2014-2020, working names used throughout the main construction period, referencing the developer PNB and the 118-floor count
Merdeka PNB118
circa 2019-2021, a transitional combined name seen in media and construction reports as the project neared topping out
Merdeka 118
current official name, in consistent use since the November 2021 topping-out and confirmed at the January 2024 inauguration
31 August 1957
Malaysia's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, proclaims independence at Stadium Merdeka, shouting "Merdeka" seven times before more than 20,000 people. The outstretched-hand gesture he made at that moment later became the design inspiration for the Merdeka 118 tower built beside the stadium.
12 September 2007
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announces the tower, then named Menara Warisan Merdeka, to be built on the site of the former Merdeka Park, by then an open-air car park adjoining Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara.
2014-2016
Enabling works begin in July 2014 under the working names KL118 and PNB118. Samsung C&T and UEM Group's joint venture (SUJV) signs the main RM3.4 billion construction contract in November 2015, and Stadium Merdeka closes in 2016 to allow full-scale tower construction on the adjoining plot.
30 November 2021
The tower tops out after its 160-metre spire is lifted into place by hydraulic jack, taking it to 678.9 metres and past Shanghai Tower's 632 metres to become the world's second-tallest building, behind only the Burj Khalifa.
November 2023
Structural completion is reached after almost nine years of construction, during which the Samsung C&T-UEM joint venture coordinated more than 3,000 workers at peak on the tower's eight mega-columns and raft foundation.
10 January 2024
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah, officially inaugurates the tower, formally opening it as Merdeka 118, more than 16 years after its initial announcement.
17 August 2024
The restored Stadium Merdeka reopens following its 2016 closure for construction; its restoration work, which returned the venue to its 1957 appearance, had earlier been recognised with a 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence.
2 March 2025
The Belfield Tunnel opens, a two-storey underground passage linking Kampung Attap and Jalan Maharajalela to the basement of the Merdeka 118 precinct, easing traffic access around the development.
7 August 2025
Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur opens across levels 75 to 114 of the tower with 232 rooms and suites, marking the Park Hyatt brand's debut in Malaysia.
30 August 2025
The Sky Race tower-running competition draws more than 5,800 participants from 70 countries up the tower's stairwells, the first large public event held inside the still not fully opened skyscraper.
August 2026 (scheduled)
118 Mall, a seven-storey retail podium with more than 300 outlets, and the tower's observation decks are due to open, completing the Merdeka 118 precinct nearly two decades after the project was first announced.
Diamond-faceted glass facade
The facade's angular, diamond-shaped panels are designed to recall both the outstretched hand gesture Tunku Abdul Rahman made while declaring independence in 1957 and the tapering silhouette of a traditional Malay keris, tying the tower's form directly to the site's history rather than being a purely decorative pattern.
The number 118
The name refers literally to the building's 118 storeys, but the developer also chose it for its resonance in Cantonese numerology, where the repeating 1 and 8 are read as continuous, day-to-day prosperity, a deliberate nod to Kuala Lumpur's Chinese business community around the site.
Structural system and spire
The tower is carried on five structural systems anchored by eight mega-columns roughly 4.5 by 5 metres wide and an oversized raft foundation, engineering built to withstand the loads of one of the world's tallest structures. Its 160-metre spire was raised into final position by hydraulic jack in November 2021 rather than built up floor by floor.
Conserved heritage stadiums
Rather than clearing the site, developers kept Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara standing through construction. Stadium Merdeka closed in 2016 during the tower's main build and reopened in August 2024 after restoration work that had already won a 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence for returning it to its 1957 appearance.
Belfield Tunnel
A two-storey underground tunnel beneath Kampung Attap and Jalan Maharajalela connects the surrounding neighbourhood directly to the precinct's basement. It opened in March 2025 to relieve street-level traffic generated by the mega-development in the historic city core.
The View at 118 observation decks
Planned observation levels near the top of the tower, including one close to Level 118, were designed to be among the highest in the region. Their opening has slipped repeatedly, from an original fourth-quarter 2024 target to the second half of 2026, alongside the adjoining mall.
Enabling works began in July 2014 under the working names KL118 and PNB118, and the main RM3.4 billion construction contract was signed by a Samsung C&T-UEM joint venture in November 2015. The tower topped out on 30 November 2021 and reached structural completion in November 2023, meaning construction spanned close to nine years before its official inauguration on 10 January 2024.
The tower was designed by Australian architecture firm Fender Katsalidis in association with Malaysian practice RSP Architects. Its diamond-faceted facade draws on the outstretched hand gesture Tunku Abdul Rahman made while proclaiming independence in 1957 and on the silhouette of a traditional keris.
Merdeka, meaning independence, refers to the tower's site beside Stadium Merdeka, where independence was declared in 1957, while 118 is both the building's floor count and a number considered auspicious in Cantonese numerology. The project was known as Menara Warisan Merdeka, then KL118 and PNB118, during earlier stages before Merdeka 118 became the settled name around its 2021 topping-out.
The tower rises on part of the former Merdeka Park, which had been reduced to an open-air car park by the time the project was announced in September 2007. The plot sits directly beside Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara, both of which the developer, PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, chose to conserve rather than demolish.
The tower topped out at 678.9 metres on 30 November 2021, when its 160-metre spire was lifted into final position, overtaking Shanghai Tower's 632 metres to become the world's second-tallest building after Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
Yes. Stadium Merdeka closed in 2016 while the tower was being built but was restored rather than demolished, reopening in August 2024. Its restoration, which returned the stadium to its 1957 appearance, had already been recognised with a 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence.
Malaysia's Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah, officially inaugurated the tower on 10 January 2024, more than 16 years after it was first announced by then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in September 2007.
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