Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) expects the total cost the PNB118 Merdeka Tower under the Warisan Merdeka project may reach about RM7 billion.

PNB president and chief executive officer Abdul Rahman Ahmad said for now, PNB was focusing on the first phase of the project, namely the construction of the tower and shopping centre, costing RM5 billion which was scheduled for completion in 2020.

He said the second and third phases of the project entailed residential and commercial space, respectively.

"The cost for the first phase remains at RM5 billion and we are very confident that it falls under the composition that we had arrived at before," he told reporters at the foundation concrete pouring ceremony of the PNB118 Merdeka Tower here today.

In his speech, Abdul Rahman said upon completion, the tower, including its spire, would stand at 630 metres and would become the tallest building in Malaysia and South-East Asia.

"This massive, high-impact project is expected to create 10,000 jobs and more so in post-completion phase when businesses and other economic activities start operating.

"The expected presence of multinational companies as tenants in the iconic tower will also create high-income jobs of varying skills and expertise for Malaysians," he said.

Meanwhile, Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd chief executuve officer Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud said the 10,000 jobs created were expected to be filled mostly by locals.

"We anticipate local companies to occupy most of the space available, but off course, when we built something iconic like this tower, there will be enquiries from international companies.

"We expect 20 floors will be occupied by international companies, while the rest will be filled by local ones," he said.

- Bernama