The construction for a massive skyscraper was recently completed in Malaysia. The project to build the jaw-dropping structure was made possible by a Korean construction company.

The skyscraper, named Merdeka 118, is located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. With its completion in January, it became the second-tallest building in the world.

As the name implies, Merdeka 118 consists of 118 ground floors, as well as five basement floors. Its height of 679 meters makes it taller than the previous second-tallest building, the 632-meter Shanghai Tower.

Merdeka 118 is also 149 meters shorter than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, which tops the list of the world’s tallest structures.

Merdeka 118 was built by Korean construction and engineering company Samsung C&T. What’s more, Samsung C&T was also responsible for constructing the Burj Khalifa in 2009.

On January 10th, the company’s CEO and other representatives were on hand at the grand opening ceremony of Merdeka 118. The ceremony was also attended by the king and queen of Malaysia.

“It is significant that the world’s tallest and second-tallest buildings were constructed by the same company,” said a representative of Samsung C&T.

Merdeka 118 will house many facilities, including shopping malls, office spaces, and high-end hotel rooms. The observatory deck on the top floor will offer a breathtaking view of the city to visitors.

The new skyscraper measures approximately 674,000 square meters* in total area, which is equivalent to about 94 soccer fields. To facilitate movement between the floors, it is equipped with 87 elevators.

Along with Samsung C&T, numerous Korean companies are heavily involved in large-scale projects to build factories, skyscrapers, and other structures abroad. In 2023, these companies received over 30 billion dollars in overseas orders.

* square meter 제곱미터