KUALA LUMPUR: The Merdeka 118 tower will benefit Malaysians as the project will be the new economic catalyst for Kuala Lumpur, complementing other areas that are rapidly developing such as KLCC and KL Sentral, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
Ismail Sabri said the development of Merdeka 118 can also provide opportunities to the local community, especially in nearby areas such as Petaling Street, Kampung Attap and Pudu to generate economy.
"Merdeka 118 is also seen to bring the spirit of the Keluarga Malaysia because apart from giving the local community the opportunity to develop business, they can also hold programmes or activities to increase the attractiveness of the area around Merdeka 118 through the Merdeka 118 Community Grants Programme," he said at a ceremony to announce the completion of Merdeka 118 tower spire here today.
Also present were Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Work Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) group chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria and PNB president and chief execuitve Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.
Ismail Sabri said the application for the Merdeka 118 Grants was opened on June 28 until August 20, where Malaysians can apply for three types of grants namely sports, arts and business community.
He said the measure can directly encourage the involvement of Malaysians in sharing ideas to reactivate the community, building more opportunities for socio-economic growth.
The Merdeka 118 Community Grants Programme is aimed at empowering the local community and building resilient businesses, institutions and community organisations.
This comprises five key locations namely the Petaling Street precinct, Jalan Hang Tuah precinct, the Sports Quadrant1, Kampung Attap and Pudu precincts.
Meanwhile, Zulqarnain said the Merdeka 118 tower, which is 85 per cent completed, was on track for completion by late 2022.
Due to the Movement Control Order (MCO), the construction of the iconic tower was delayed by more than six months from its initial target of end 2021.
"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.
"Today, I am excited to announce the incredible engineering achievement attained. We thank everyone who contributed to this importanmilestone," 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.
The tower includes unique features such as The View at 118, the highest observation deck in Southeast Asia, as well as the glass-dones 118 Mall qithib the podium of the tower.
Just outside is the Merdeka Boulevard at 118, a linear prk comprosinf over 1.62 hectares of open spaces with greenery and water features.
Setting new benchmarks in sustainability, Merdeka 118 will be the first building in the country to earn platinum rating with international sustainability certifications, namely Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Green Real Estate and Green Building Index.