The Exchange 106

The Exchange 106, formerly known as Signature Tower is a 453.6-meter-tall supertall skyscraper in Tun Razak Exchange, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is second tallest building in Malaysia, third tallest building in Southeast Asia, and the 14th tallest building in the world. The 387.6-meter building is topped with a 11-story high illuminated crown making it 106-story high (still 95-story) and tall. It is also the largest skyscraper in Malaysia by floor area with . The tower has a net lettable area of .

The Exchange 106 is currently the 14th tallest building in the world according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and the second tallest building in Malaysia, surpassing the Petronas Twin Towers by 1.7 meters.

As of October 2019, about of Exchange 106's floor space was expected to be taken up by tenants. The floor space is column-less, ranges from .

Proposal and development

The skyscraper was first conceptualized when TRX was controlled by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a sovereign fund owned by the Government of Malaysia. On 13 May 2015, 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd (1MDB RE), the master developer of TRX, and the Mulia Group announced that, through Mulia Property Development Sdn Bhd, they had signed a Sale and Purchase agreement for the development rights of the plot of land for the Exchange 106 (then known as the Signature Tower), with the land transacted at a value of RM665 million. Groundwork on the Exchange 106 plot commenced on 1 March 2016, with the mat concrete foundation laid in May 2016 (see "Progress" section below).

Presently, Mulia Property Development Sdn Bhd is 51% owned by the Ministry of Finance through MKD Signature Sdn Bhd and 49% by Mulia International.

Progress

The Exchange 106 was managed by the Mulia Group, with structural construction carried out by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, through its Malaysian subsidiary China State Construction Engineering (M) Sdn. Bhd.

In May 2016, the tower's foundation concrete pour took place over a weekend and was the second-largest continuous concrete pour in the world. In December 2017, the building was structurally topped out, 19 months after commencement, achieving an average of 3 days a floor.

Exchange 106 achieved its Certificate of Completion and Compliance in September 2019.

The construction of the TRX's shopping mall (known as The Exchange TRX) which is located at the foot of the Exchange 106 is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2021. Later on, the construction of the mall was delayed due to the strict Movement Control Order (MCO) in the country caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The completion of the mall was pushed back to 2022.

As of December 2021, the overall infrastructure of TRX is at 80 percent completion, while The Exchange TRX mall is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Links to 1MDB

Considered the "pet project" of then prime minister of Malaysia Najib Razak, work to complete the building continued despite uncertainties that arose when his coalition, the Barisan Nasional, lost the 2018 Malaysian general election.

In June 2018, the Malaysian government under Pakatan Harapan had to inject a further RM2.8 billion into the master development of Tun Razak Exchange, of which The Exchange 106 is a part, to complete the project. This was after it was discovered that significant amounts of public funds were misappropriated from the master developer TRX City to pay the debts of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which was US$7.8 billion in debt, as well as being funneled into Najib's personal bank account.

Criticism

The tower, along with Merdeka 118, has often been referred by many Malaysians as highly unnecessary and a "national disgrace", with their presence on the Kuala Lumpur skyline "tainted" and signifying the legacy of the scandal.

Gallery

File:4-3 CSCEC011.jpg, Construction of the tower in July 2016
File: The Exchange 106 Jan 2018.jpg, Exchange 106 under construction in TRX Kuala Lumpur in January 2018
File: The Exchange 106 (TRX).jpg, Construction progress as of 11 March 2018
File: The Exchange 106 top.jpg, Top of the tower on 7 Nov 2018
File: Kuala Lumpur. The Exchange 106. 2019-11-30 20-46-54.jpg, 65-meter and 11-storey high illuminated crown at night
File: Tun Razak Exchange MRT Station Entrance.jpg, Tun Razak Exchange MRT Station entrance

Transportation

The skyscraper is currently served only by the Kajang Line with one station, the Tun Razak Exchange MRT underground station on site.

The underground station will also be a stop on the Putrajaya Line (SSP), scheduled to open in December 2022 or January 2023. This station is one of two interchanges between the Kajang and Putrajaya MRT lines.

See also

* Tun Razak Exchange
* List of tallest buildings in Malaysia
* List of tallest buildings in Kuala Lumpur
* List of tallest buildings in the world
* List of buildings with 100 floors or more

References

{{Supertall skyscrapers

Skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur
Postmodern architecture in Malaysia
Skyscraper hotels in Kuala Lumpur
Skyscraper office buildings in Kuala Lumpur
Residential skyscrapers in Malaysia