Standing over 2,227 feet above Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, Merdeka 118 is now the world's second-tallest building behind Dubai's Burj Khalifa. It is also one of just four so-called "mega tall" skyscrapers — a term used to describe towers measuring over 600 meters, or 1,969 feet — in the world.
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When the building topped out in 2021, then-prime minister Ismail Sabri compared the design to the image of former leader Tunku Abdul Rahman raising a hand in the air upon announcing the country's independence at the neighboring Stadium Merdeka in 1957. The Australian architecture firm behind the project, Fender Katsalidis, meanwhile says the triangular glass planes on the building's facade were inspired by patterns found in Malaysian arts and crafts.
Set to complete in the second half of 2023, the building (and the sprawling mall at its base) promises around 1 million square feet of retail space, as well an 1,000-seat theater, offices, a hotel and Southeast Asia's highest observation deck.