Warisan Merdeka height now 600m, possibly world's No 3

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) yesterday confirmed the height of its iconic Warisan Merdeka project has been revised to 600 metres, which will make it possibly the third highest building in the world.

However, the government-linked fund management company has denied a rumour that the tower will be increased to 120 floors.

“At the inception of this project, the original height of the building was envisaged to beat approximately 509 metres.

“Since then, we have revised the height to 600 metres and the extra height is purely for the spire,” said PNB in response to Malaysiakini’s inquiry.

The company also clarified that the nett lettable area for Menara Warisan remains at 100 floors.

“Therefore the new height of 600 metres will not increase nett lettable area for the tower as conceptualised earlier.”

He was responding to a claim made by heritage activitist Teoh Chee Keong that Menara Warisan will be increased from 102 floors to 120 floors.

At 600 metres, Menara Warisan will possibly the third highest building in the world, only lower than UAE’s Burj Khalifa (828 metres) and Saudi Arabia’s Royal Clock Tower Hotel (601 metres).

It will surpass the 509-metre Taipei 101, which is currently the third highest skyscapers and once the world’s highest between 2004 and 2010.

However, Menara Warisan is also facing fierce competition from fellow Asian countries, with several skyscrapers of around 600 metres being under construction or planning in China and India.

‘No heritage buildings will be acquired’

PNB also denied that the company will acquire any surrounding heritage buildings to expand the roads connecting to Menara Warisan.

“For road improvement purposes, there are road widening plans for the existing roads. However, this will be carried out within the road reserve and using part of Menara Warisan’s land.”

PNB also said that although the development order has been granted, but they are still fine-tuning certain aspects of the project prior to execution of work. 

“This is to ensure that the project will be a beneficial one not only for us but also to communities surrounding the development.”

During a forum held earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur, Teoh, who is also a lecturer, said he had heard that Menara Warisan will be increased from the initially planned 102 floors to 120 floors.

This will effectively increase its height to around 600 metres.

He was also worried that the revision in height will trigger another round of land acquisition in surrounding area for the needs of the expansion of the local road system.

This might affected the surrounding heritage buildings including the Chan Clan House and the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese assembly hall, he said.