(CNN) – The tower or tower of a 118-storey high-rise skyscraper has reached a height of nearly 700 meters above the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Merdeka Tower 118, which will become the second tallest building in the world when completed next year, is now taller than the 631.8-meter Shanghai Tower and is second only to the Shanghai Tower. Burj Khalifa, From Dubai.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaqoub described the project as an “iconic tower of the future” at the tower’s completion ceremony on Tuesday.

“This is not only a great achievement in the field of engineering,” He told reporters. But it also reinforces Malaysia’s position as a modern and developed country.

The tower covers 288,000 square metres, more than half of which will be served as offices, and will also house a shopping mall, mosque, Park Hyatt Hotel and the tallest observation deck in Southeast Asia. The spacious 1.6 hectare site will also contain public spaces and a garden at ground level.

The skyscraper is located in a historic district of Kuala Lumpur, overlooking Merdeka Stadium, where former leader Tunku Abdul Rahman declared Malaysia’s independence in 1957. Ismail Sabri, who was appointed prime minister in August, said on Tuesday that the design of “sculptural mirrors” and in a picture ” Rahman famously raised his hand to shout “Merdeka! (Malay, “independent!”) for more than six decades.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaqoub (centre) at the completion ceremony of the Tower Tower. Image source: Syaiful Redzuan / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

The Australian architecture studio behind the project, Fender Katsalidis, said the triangular glass planes on the building’s facade were inspired by patterns found in Malaysian handicrafts. The design “symbolically represents the rich cultural mix that characterizes the people of the country,” the company said in a press release.

In another statement, one of the company’s founding partners, Karl Fender, added that the building is designed to enrich “the social energy and cultural fabric of the city.”

“In addition, the completion of the second tallest building in the world celebrates the years of planning, problem-solving, collaboration, and human effort required to achieve a building of this complexity,” he says. “Reaching such a great height is a welcome prize.”

This is what the construction site for what will be the world’s second tallest skyscraper will look like.

Announced in 2010, the project began construction five years ago, although worries It was voiced by some defenders of local heritage about the impact it could have on the historic district.

Although the building was expected to open this year, construction was temporarily halted in March 2020 when the Malaysian government established Strict containment measures To combat the spread of COVID-19.

The skyline of Kuala Lumpur has changed due to its skyscrapers in recent decades, and it is now the capital of Malay 13 tallest city in the worldAccording to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The 452-meter Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world between 1998 and 2004, when they were surpassed by Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

In 2019, the 106-storey Exchange 106 became the tallest skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur and Southeast Asia, despite being Involved in the 1MDB financial controversyWhich led to the indictment of former Prime Minister Najib Razak of crimes such as money laundering and abuse of power.