Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib said Malaysians must sacrifice in term of land usage so that high-rise buildings can be built and Kuala Lumpur can be developed as an international city.

“How can you expect the city of Kuala Lumpur with 250 square kilometres, to be built without high-rise buildings,” he responded when asked about the controversial construction of the Warisan Merdeka tower, where there had been urgings to preserve the local heritage and keep small and medium businesses.

“So, everybody has to sacrifice for it,” he told a press conference, adding that development was essential to create an international and global city.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall has imposed certain requirements and conditions on the developer such as conducting a traffic report, before approval is given for the project’s layout plan, he said.

azlan He said he believed the 118-storey Warisan Merdeka will make local businesses flourish and benefit the local community, similar to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).

The mayor also opined that the skyscraper project can co-exist and blend with the existing heritage buildings, such as Stadium Merdeka, following his recent visit to King’s Cross, London where old buildings are still intact while new development had come in.

“We have decided that the owner (PNB) will organise an exhibition for the public to explain that we will not sacrifice our heritage.

NONE “(King’s Cross is) an example for us, where we can blend our heritage with modern requirements,” Ahmad Phesal ( left ) said.

The project, the initial plan for which was to build a 102-storey building, but which gradually increased to 118 storeys, was announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2010.

PNB Merdeka Ventures, the developer and PNB’s subsidiary, has submitted a layout plan to City Hall for approval, which also includes two blocks of 40-storey apartments and hotels respectively.

The developer had also applied to change the land usage of the surrounding area from vacant land to commercial land, which also affects both Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara.

To this, Ahmad Phesal said that while Stadium Merdeka will keeps its status as a national heritage site, its building would be commercialised.