KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will be able to reduce its Scope 2 emissions when it moves from its current location in Menara PNB, Jalan Tun Razak, to Merdeka 118, a high-performance, energy-optimised green building.

Merdeka 118 is a triple-platinum LEED, Green Real Estate (GreenRE), and Green Building Index-rated green building.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of energy that has been purchase from a utility provider.

PNB, which owns Merdeka 118 via its wholly-owned subsidiary, PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, will occupy 17 floors of the skyscraper in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

The relocation to Merdeka 118 will start in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to PNB president and group chief executive Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.

"We will be fully operational in the new office by the end of the year," he said in the company's annual report released today.

PNB has called Menara PNB its home since 1985.

The 678.9-metre-tall Merdeka 118 skyscraper, which was designed by the Australian firm Fender Katsalidis, was formally recognised as the second-tallest structure in the world and the tallest in Southeast Asia at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Conference 2022 in Chicago, the United States.

With a height of 632 metres, the Shanghai Tower, which was created by Gensler in China, loses its title as the second-tallest skyscraper in the world to Merdeka 118.

The title of the world's tallest building is held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which measures 828 metres in height.

The development on Merdeka 118 began in 2016 on a site that looks over Stadium Merdeka, a historically significant structure created for Malaysia's declaration of independence in 1957.

The skyscraper reeked of accomplishment as the final panel was securely fitted. The installation of the final panel brings Merdeka 118's crystalline façade, which is made up of about 18,000 glass panels, to 95 per cent completion.

Industry observers previously expressed scepticism on the take-up rate for Merdeka 118, given the adverse market conditions and difficult global backdrop.

"Some businesses went hybrid in the wake of the pandemic, reducing their office space by 30 to 40 per cent. However, given that the economy has expanded and new investments are pouring in, I think high-value sites will continue to prosper," he told NST Property.

According to reports, Maybank would occupy 33 storeys, or 650,000 square feet, in Merdeka 118.

Maybank has announced that it will be relocating its Menara Maybank corporate headquarters. Merdeka 118 will welcome the banking group in the first quarter of 2025.

In addition to offices, the incredibly tall skyscraper will also include a range of hospitality, retail, and residential amenities with the intention of developing into a significant tourist attraction.

A hotel and a double-height observation deck, which is anticipated to be the highest in Southeast Asia, would be included among the public amenities.