Kuala Lumpur has a number of ambitious commercial development and infrastructure projects underway which will transform the city’s skyline and livability.
The multiethnic Malaysian city of 1.8 million (7 million metro) is building world class infrastructure to rival that of any global city, but with the change in national government in 2018, the status of many of these projects became uncertain.
In this article we’ll examine the planned projects, their current statuses and the impact they’ll have on the country.
Firstly, transportation in the country is getting a massive upgrade.
Originally canceled by the new ruling party due to overly high costs, the high-speed rail connecting Kuala Lumpur with Singapore is now back on and should be complete by the second half of the 2020s (with later extensions planned to Bangkok and eventually China).
The public transportation system within KL is also getting a complete overhaul.
In addition to the existing LRT (lightrail/monorail) and KTM system (commuter rail) system, the previous government had planned 3 MRT (mass rapid transit) lines, with the first being completed in 2017, and an additional LRT line, aiming to both extend the existing rail network and further integrate the existing lines.
The second MRT line is already under construction and will be complete by the mid-2020s at a lower budget, but the third (a circle line which would have connected the existing transport system) has been canceled for now.
As many large developments were planned around the third MRT line, this cancellation will have effects which we will discuss later in the article.
The third LRT line is still planned but now with a reduced budget and revised plan.
Although not as extensive as originally planned, these new lines together should make traveling anywhere within the Klang Valley via public transit a much more seamless experience than previously possible.
When it comes to livability, the city also has ambitious projects planned.
One is Taman Tugu, a 91-acre park directly behind KL Sentral meant to become the city’s Central Park, to be completed in 2019.
The original plan for Taman Tugu was to be a Malaysian version of New York’s Central Park, with over 4,000 ethnic Malaysian rainforest trees to give visitors a tropical urban forest experience with lakes and streams, hanging bridges, camping sites, zip lines and an 800-meter forest trail.
Combined with the existing Perdana Botanical Gardens, which are directly behind and connected to Taman Tugu, the project will result in 331 acres of adjacent park land in the middle of the city.
Although some of the more fantastical plans for this park are now under review, four hiking trails opened in September 2018.
Hoping to emulate the success of Seoul’s urban renewal which was spurred by the restoration of the city’s Cheonggyecheon River, the River of Life project in KL is an effort to clean up the Klang River to attract more economic development in neglected areas along the river.
The first stage was completed in 2017 and is in the city’s historic center, an area undergoing massive renewal.
Light show on the Klang River in front of Masjid Jamek (Malaysia’s oldest mosque):
And now let’s get to the building projects underway, which are perhaps the most exciting developments.
Major projects
-Merdeka PNB 118 (completion date 2019)
Merdeka PNB 118 is set to become Southeast Asia’s tallest building and the third tallest in the world upon completion, after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the under-construction Jeddah Tower in Saudia Arabia.
The final height of the tower has not been released, but estimates are around 2,070 feet, and it will be adjacent to Merdeka Stadium and within walking distance to the city’s historic center, where the River of Life project has already been completed and begun transforming this area of the city.
As this is a private project, it is in no danger of being canceled.
View of construction of PNB118 in the foreground and TRX in the background from the Pasar Seni MRT station:\
https://emergingequity.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VID_20181003_162155.mp4
-Tun Razak Exchange (completion date 2018/2019)
Tun Razak Exchange is Kuala Lumpur’s new financial district.
The 70-acre development will be headlined by its under-construction 1,614-foot Signature Tower which has now become Southeast Asia’s tallest building, replacing the Petronas Towers as the holder of that title until the completion of Merdeka PNB 118 in 2019.
The signature tower (pictured below) is nearing completion and should be ready to open by 2019.
The district was proposed to include 30 total buildings to be completed over the next 15 years, including a retail lifestyle mall and large, multi-layer urban park.
The TRX project will still be completed despite more than RM 3 billion of government funds misappropriated from TRX City Sdn Bhd by 1MDB.
The new, PH-led government will fund of up to RM 2.8 billion additional development at TRX, partly to allay concerns of investors, which will result in total government funding of the project at RM6.5 billion – yielding a profit as the full value of the project is estimated to be at RM 7.6 billion.
However, with the change in government, tax breaks meant to draw businesses to the district are now in question as is investment from the larger companies able to pay for the high end office space at TRX as they monitor the economic climate under the new government.
TRX is across Jalan Tun Razak from the recently-completed TREC nightlife and entertainment district and will connect to Bukit Bintang via a renovated Jalan Gading, with outdoor cafes, arts and culture installations and a pedestrian walkway.
With this walkway connecting all the way to Pavilion Mall, and then with the existing elevated walkways from Pavilion to KLCC, pedestrians will be able to walk all the way from TREC to the Petronas Towers without having to deal with car traffic.
-Bukit Bintang City Centre (completion date 2019)
Bukit Bintang City Centre is a LEED Gold-rated development at the colonial-era Pudu Prison site.
The 7.85-hectacre development will house a new luxury mall, which will be the Japanese brand Mitsui’s flagship in Southeast Asia, offices, residences, a 4-star hotel, a world-class concert hall, an urban park and the 1,300+ ft signature tower pictured above.
View the latest progress (at time of writing) here:
-KL Metropolis (completion date 2024)
KL Metropolis is a 75.5-acre development, RM 20 billion located behind the popular Publika mall and next to the recently completed Matrade Exhibition and Convention Center in Mont Kiara.
https://emergingequity.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VID_20180619_1354362.mp4
The project will include several office and luxury apartment buildings, two five (or six)-star hotels, a hospital aimed at medical tourism, a park, Met Galleria, a RM160mil two-storey upmarket mall, and the KL Metropolis Landmark Tower, a 1,300+ foot structure.
This development was to be serviced by the coming MRT 3 Circle Line, as was nearby Publika, which is also in the process of constructing Solaris Parq (pictured below), an extension of the popular mall along with additional luxury residences, to be completed in 2022.
This project is still on, but with the MRT 3 being canceled, some of the projections and timetables may change.
Bukit Bintang
-8Conlay (Kempinski Hotel & Residences) (completion date 2020)
8 Conlay will be home to the Kempenski Hotel & Residences, along Jalan Conlay, steps from Pavilion Bukit Bintang and a short walk from KLCC.
8 Conlay will be comprised of three towers and a 200,000 sq ft luxury retail podium, the tallest of which will stand over 1,010 feet (308 m) and house Europe's oldest luxury hotelier and likely the most affordable Kempinski residences in the world, which are currently priced at 2,500 MYR (~$625) per sq ft.
Construction is well under way on the development which will be serviced by the coming MRT 2 Conlay station.
-YTL Headquarters (completion date 2019)
The new headquarters for YTL will be based in Bukit Bintang and give the growing area another glassy skyscraper.
The almost-complete 40-story building will feature an upper-mid market retail mall and be walking distance from Pavilion, TRX Exchange, and Prince Court Medical Centre, the top hospital in the world for medical tourism.
-Redevelopment of Bukit Bintang Plaza
The 18-story building that was constructed in the 1970s was recently demolished and will be replaced by a 56-storey glassy structure, featuring a 12-stories of retail and 44 of luxury apartments.
With Pavilion a block away, a refurbished Sungei Wang Plaza next door, and the new clean, modernistic Bukit Bintang MRT station footsteps from this development, KL’s busiest shopping district will soon have a sleek, ultramodern feel.
https://emergingequity.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VID_20180616_185634.mp4
KLCC
-Four Seasons Place (completion date 2018)
https://emergingequity.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VID_20180930_1709432.mp4
The Petronas Twin Towers are about to get quite a bit of company with several supertall skyscrapers under construction along the edges of KLCC park.
The first of which, Four Seasons Place, is now complete.
The 1,112-ft tower hosts residences, a luxury retail mall anchored by Robinsons M 200,000 sq ft Malaysia flagship store which opened in the summer of 2018, and a Four Seasons hotel which will be the second tallest hotel in the world, after the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.
-Fairmont Raffles KLCC (completion date 2021)
The Fairmont Hotel will be nestled in front of Four Seasons Place, facing KLCC Park and next to the Petronas Towers.
The luxury hotel will feature a four-story shopping complex podium that will be integrated with Suria KLCC mall (underneath the Petronas Towers). The new Suria mall extension will be interconnect with the current mall.
This walkway will also connect to Four Seasons retail space, along with the coming MRT 3 Station, KLCC East.
-Oxley Towers (completion date 2021)
The next plot of land, to the right of the new Fairmont Raffles Hotel and Four Seasons Place when facing the Petronas Towers from KLCC Park, will host the Oxley Towers.
The three towers (the tallest of which measuring 1,119-ft), will house two luxury hotels (Sofitel and Jumeirah), serviced apartments and offices.
Construction has begun on the towers and they should be finished by 2021.
-Lot 91 (completion date 2019)
This 828-ft office tower will sit on the South Gate of KLCC park, next to the KLCC convention center.
-W Hotel (completed)
The 770-ft (235-m) tall hotel is located on Jalan Ampang, about an 8-minute walk from the Petronas Twin Towers and is the first W Hotel in Malaysia.
Its bar has a superb view of KLCC.
https://emergingequity.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VID_20830530_034442_6103.mp4
-Equatorial Plaza (Jalan Sultan Ismail) (completion date 2018)
Equatorial Plaza is a 738-ft (225-m) tall building that will be the new home of Kuala Lumpur’s Equatorial Plaza Hotel, along with devoting 23 levels of the building to office space.
The hotel is located on Jalan Sultan Ismail and is about a 5-10-minute walk from KLCC Park and one stop on the LRT to Bukit Bintang.
Bukit Damansara and east
-Pavilion Damansara Heights (completion date 2022)
Pavilion Damansara Heights will be a 38,750-sq meter development that the Pavilion Group is building in hopes to replicate the incredible success of the upmarket Pavilion mall, which opened in Bukit Bintang in 2007 and has become one of the.
Located in the affluent Bukit Damansara suburb, Pavilion Damansara Heights will have offices, apartment buildings, a hotel and a seven-story mall.
It will be connected to the new Pusat Bandar Damansara MRT station, making it just five stops from the Pavilion Bukit Bintang MRT station. It is also a very short drive to the trendy Bangsar neighborhood and TPC Golf Course.
Damansara City, the RM 2.5 billion development adjacent to Pavilion Damansara Heights opened in December 2017.
Video from taken from the Pusat Bandar Damansara MRT station below:
https://emergingequity.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VID_20180616_180058.mp4
Bangsar, MidValley and south
-KL Eco City (completion date 2024)
KL Eco City is a green luxury development connected by a pedestrian walkway to MidValley City, which hosts the Gardens Mall and the world famous MidValley Megamall (opened in 1999).
It will be one of the largest integrated mixed commercial and residential developments in Malaysia, with 7.5 million sq ft gross floor area in its 14 residential and office towers, the tallest being 54-stories tall.
Two of the apartment towers, named the Vogue Suites, and a corporate tower were completed in 2017.
This development will be connected to the famous MidValley City mall and is linked to the Abdullah Hukum LRT station, but it’s also another one of the massive projects that will not have MRT3 access, as had been proposed.
The corporate tower will feature a five-story podium mall which is nearing completion, with elevated gardens at multiple levels to introduce daylights and the entire second floor will be occupied by Bangsar Market by Jaya Grocer.
Bangsar Market will be the largest grocery store in Malaysia at 54,000 sq ft and will feature Kuala Lumpur’s most renowned food stalls, creating an atmosphere comparable to Camden Market in London or Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne.
Colony co-working space has opened one of their branches in one of the office buildings and in the retail podium Bangsar Market’s grocery portion and a few cafes are already operating.
Pictures of both below:
-Bangsar Junction
PHB, a real estate holding company, is developing a prime spot of land in Bangsar, perhaps KL’s most sought-after neighborhood when it comes to residential real estate.
The development will include 50-story serviced apartment block and two blocks of 37-story office suites atop an eight-story retail podium and a pedestrian bridge over Jalan Maarof, giving this section of Bangsar much needed access to the LRT.
The development will include a new park facing Jalan Bangsar and will be steps from the remodeled APW building, a former newspaper printing shop that now houses a creative industrial space and some of KL’s most highly rated cafes, including Breakfast Thieves and PULP.
-Pantai Sentral Park
This 70-acre project in Bangsar South will connect with the LRT 3 and aims to create an “urban forest city” with a 200-acre forest park adjacent to the development and will be designed by Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).
This development is another that will be affected by the cancellation of the MRT3, but it is still moving forward and does enjoy access to several highways and a coming LRT3 station.
-Bukit Jalil City (completion date 2020)
Headlined by Pavilion Bukit Jalil, which will become one of the largest malls in Malaysia with 1.8 million sq ft of lettable area, Bukit Jalil City is a 50-acre retail and residential development that sold out all of its retail shops upon launching in 2015.
Bukit Jalil City will also encompass Bukit Jalil Sports City, also to be completed by 2020. The recently renovated Bukit Jalil Stadium, part of Bukit Jalil Sports City, hosted the 2017 Southeast Asian games.
Kampung Baru
-M101 The Skywheel
This controversial project is defined by featuring the world’s highest Ferris wheel, along with a Planet Hollywood Hotel and luxury apartments designed by Porsche.
-Kampung Baru City Center
This traditional Malay village steps from the center of Kuala Lumpur’s financial district may be undergoing massive renewal soon.
Pictured above is an image of what Kampung Baru may look like in the near future, with an elevated walkway reminiscent of New York’s High Line.
The first project underway is the pedestrian Saloma Link Bridge, modeled after the Bridge of Peace in Tblisi, Georgia, which will link the neighborhood to KLCC.
Titiwangsa and North
-KL Vertical City
This complex will include a 74 foot office tower for Felda Global Ventures and two condominium towers. The tower is under construction currently, but is facing controversy as Felda (a government corporation) lost the title to the land on which the towers are being built to the developer of the project. After this came to light, the title was transferred back and the project is continuing.
-KL River City
Tied to the River of Life initiative mentioned above, KL River City is a planned large-scale development along the Gombak River in Titiwangsa. The 16.5 billion Ringgit project has four phases, including EkoQuay, to be a similar waterfront lifestyle quarter to Singapore’s Clarke Quay.
-Rawang Bypass
The tallest highway in Malaysia, using concrete pillars that are almost 60 meters tall, and cuts travel times from Rawang to Kuala Lumpur from 2 hours to just 30 minutes.
-Genting Highlands
Genting Highlands, the hilly casino town about an hour north of Kuala Lumpur has undergone a huge transformation over the past year with the opening of the Genting Premium Outlet Mall and the world’s first 21st Century Fox theme park, which is set to open later this year.
Videos of both are below:
Projects with unclear status
-Tradewinds Square (Jalan Sultan Ismail)
(possible designs)
The proposed Tradewinds Square along Jalan Sultan Ismail was set to reach 2,543 ft (775 m), taller the KL 118 and almost as tall as the Burj Khalifa.
Construction stalled and its proposed site is now rented out for rebar fabrication works for diaphragm walls for MRT2, to be complete in 2022.
-Plaza Rakyat (Pudu)
Work began on Plaza Rakyat in the 1990s with plans for a 79-story office tower, 46 story condominium, a hotel and shopping center, but was abandoned after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
There have been repeated efforts to revive the project, but as of now, it is still unclear what the future holds for Plaza Rakyat, but it is becoming even more prime real estate with PNB 118 and other redevelopment projects like the River of Life nearby.
The most recent plans made in 2017 were to include 5 skyscrapers including a 96-story tower, but the project remains abandoned.
Plaza Rakyat site with PNB 118 construction in the background:
-Pavilion Square
Meant to be the site of a Harrods luxury department store and world's first Harrods Hotel, located across Jalan Raja Chulan from Pavilion Bukit Bintang and next to the new Banyan Tree hotel, this project was originally proposed in 2012 by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, but the project stalled due to land transfer issues and then a change in the Qatari government. The project was then taken on by Tradewinds Malaysia and re-branded from Harrods Square to Pavilion Square, but no new developments have been reported since 2017.
-Bandar Malaysia (completion date 2026)
Bandar Malaysia was the planned terminus for the HSR line to Singapore and was slated to be completed in 2026, as the HSR has been delayed by two years and the government is looking at cutting the costs associated with it, the future plans of Bandar Malaysia are still unclear.
This MYR 160 Billion (~$40 Billion) residential and commercial development at the former Sungai Besi Air Force Base (in southern KL) was planned to cover 196 hectares and feature the world’s largest underground city, complete with indoor canals, theme parks, cultural villages, and gardens.
Its iconic tower would have been another supertall skyscraper, of similar height to TRX’s signature tower.
As of writing, no announcement has been made about Pakatan Harapan’s plans for Bandar Malaysia, but the highly valuable and strategic piece of land meant to be a transport hub with connections to the HSR and MRT 2 and 3 is likely to have some future.
Site of Bandar Malaysia:
Conclusion –
The result of these developments will be that in less than a decade Kuala Lumpur will have one of the most impressive skylines in the world, rivaling that of Dubai, along with world class infrastructure adding to the already superbly livable environment the city’s residents now enjoy.
The cancellation of the MRT3 may have hurt some projects immediately surrounding its planned path that were build on speculated future value, but most mega projects under development are in already mature areas with potential regardless of the MRT's completion.