The Exchange 106 tower – part of the Tun Razak Exchange, one of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's hallmark development initiatives – is set to take its position as the country's tallest building.

Expected to be completed in the middle of this year, the 492m tower will surpass the Petronas Twin Towers, the legacy of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which stands at 452m.

According to Berita Harian, Exchange 106 will be completed in the second quarter of this year followed by a grand opening in the third quarter.

The 106-floor tower was developed by Indonesia-based Mulia Group, which had engaged the China State Construction Engineering Corporation as the main contractor.

Despite the rest of the Tun Razak Exchange component facing hiccups due to issues surrounding state investment firm 1MDB, Exchange 106 had proceeded using technology imported from China that allowed the tower to be built at a rate of one floor every three days.

Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani had in May 2016 conceded that banks were reluctant to provide financing to project partners of the TRX due to 1MDB.

TRX had since been transferred to the Finance Ministry.

The Finance Ministry had also reportedly acquired a 51 percent stake in Exchange 106.

1MDB, owned by the Finance Ministry, previously sold the 3.42 acres of land on which Exchange 106 was built on to Mulia Group.