For booming Malaysia, the sky's the limit
For booming Malaysia, the sky's the limit
By Ong Saw Lay
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): If height is any symbol of success,
Malaysia will soon, at least fancifully, be the pinnacle of
achievement as home to Asia's tallest tower and, by year-end, to
the world's tallest building.
Crowning Kuala Lumpur's rapidly-changing skyline at 421 metres
(1,263 feet), Menara Kuala Lumpur last week began its reign as
the tallest tower in Asia and the third-tallest in the world.
"We want Menara Kuala Lumpur to be to Malaysia what the Eiffel
Tower is to France," said Nasir Ithnin, general manager of Menara
Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd.
Menara in 1991 was awarded a 15-year government concession to
build and manage the telecommunications tower.
The 270 million-ringgit (108 million-dollar) structure is a
90-10 joint venture between the national telephone company,
Telekom Malaysia Bhd, and Germany's Wayss and Freytag AG, the
turnkey contractor.
Designed by local architecture firm Kumpulan Senireka Sdn Bhd,
it features a glass dome within the tower designed to reflect
Malaysia's Islamic heritage.
A stone's throw from the Menara, what will be the world's
tallest building is already reaching for the sky.
At 451.9 metres, the 2.3-billion-ringgit (920-million-dollar)
twin tower owned by state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd
(Petronas) should top record-holder Chicago's Sears Towers by 8.9
metres when it opens by year-end.
But its reign as the world's tallest is expected to end when
China's 457-metre Chongqing Tower is completed next year.
The 88-storey twin towers, designed by U.S.-based architect
Cesar Pelli, is seen not only as a flashy new address for
Petronas, but also as a status symbol for fast-developing
Malaysia.
"It's an achievement," said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
recently.
Government officials last week cut into a special cake baked
in the shape of the structure to celebrate Mahathir's 15th year
in office.
New monuments and hotels have mushroomed in the capital in the
last two years as Malaysia moves toward the prime minister's goal
of joining the world's fully industrialized nations by 2020.
Despite a burgeoning deficit in its trade and current account
balances, Malaysia is pushing ahead with huge projects, some
tagged as extravagant and wasteful by Mahathir's critics.
About 64 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital, the
government is spending 20.09 billion ringgit (8.0 billion
dollars) on a federal administrative metropolis for the
relocation of state ministries.
Due for completion in 2005, the so-called Putrajaya project is
located not far from Kuala Lumpur's new nine-billion-dollar
international airport.
Builders are rushing to meet the airport's completion deadline
in 1998, when Malaysia hosts the Commonwealth Games.
Big projects are still the way of the future, the 71-year-old
Mahathir recently declared.
Economists say the mega projects will further strain
Malaysia's current account deficit, tipped to remain at 15
billion ringgit this year, only a slight improvement from last
year's 18 billion ringgit shortfall.
Mahathir sees the projects as necessary to ease bottlenecks
and continue attracting inflows of the foreign funds that have
helped fuel Malaysia's economic growth, which has stayed above
eight percent annually since 1987.
Malaysia, now grappling with rising worker shortage and labor
costs, needs at least 450 billion ringgit (180 billion dollars)
to fund projects and sustain its robust growth for the next five
years.