Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) is confident that its PNB118 Tower will not cause a glut in office space in Kuala Lumpur when it is completed, as there will be sufficient demand in the future.

PNB president Abdul Wahid Omar said although there are already many skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, the new tower would not add much to it as the area available for lease is "not a very big area".

"We do have our own group of companies that have taken about 60 floors. And then we have about 20 (floors) reserved for the hotel. The balance of about 20 percent will be open for leasing [...] That is less than half a million square feet, so it is actually not a very big area.

"So we believe there will be enough attraction, enough demand, for such a high-quality building with the address," he said.

He was speaking to reporters during a talk in Kuala Lumpur today, which was organised by the Malaysian Press Institute.

During the question-and-answer question, Wahid was asked whether the 118-storey tower would create a glut of unused office space in Kuala Lumpur when it is completed.

Wahid acknowledged that it would be a challenge to market PNB118 Tower's office space, as there is already a large supply of commercial office spaces in Kuala Lumpur.

However, he believes that demand for office space in Kuala Lumpur is set to increase.

"In the longer term, I believe that as Kuala Lumpur becomes a global city with great infrastructure, great public transportation, great connectivity with the High-Speed Rail (HSR) to Singapore, I believe there will be a lot of demand for office space," he said.

To a question why the PNB118 Tower is not visible, whereas the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) Signature Tower is already taking shape on the Kuala Lumpur skyline, Wahid assured that construction is still underway.

He said most of the construction work thus far, had been on the building's foundation and substructure.

"The reason why don't see a lot of the work going on is that (it is in) the substructure, below ground level. As you know, to build the fifth tallest building in the world, a lot of work needs to be done [...]

"But I think over the next year, you will start to see the building coming up," he said.

The 630-metre tower was launched last year, though construction had begun in 2014. Its first phase, which includes the tower, is slated for completion in 2020. The rest of the three-phase project would be completed by 2024.

For comparison, the current record holder for the tallest tower in Malaysia - the Petronas Twin Towers - is 451.9 metres tall.

The TRX Signature Tower, which is currently under construction and is slated for its "topping off" at by end of the year, would stand at 492 metres tall. The project was launched in 2012.
The PNB118 Tower has a gross development value of RM5 billion. Its features include a six-star hotel with 236 rooms, a sky lobby, 82 floors of office space, and a mall, holding over 200 stalls and a 12-screen cinema.

In September last year, financial weekly The Edge quoted unnamed sources claiming that there were problems with PNB118's foundation works that needed rectification, which may result in delays and incur additional costs.

However, the project owner PNB Merdeka Ventures reportedly responded by saying that the project is still on time and on the budget.