TOWER TO GO AHEAD ONLY IF COMMERCIALLY VIABLE - PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Permodalan Nasional Bhd's proposed 100-storey
Warisan Merdeka (Independence Heritage) tower will go ahead only if it is
commercially viable, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday.

He said the project must also contribute towards the larger economic development
within the particular area and provide business opportunities.

"The project must satisfy these conditions and if the conditions are met, it
will go ahead.

"It must provide the impetus and catalyst for a greater Kuala Lumpur," he told
reporters after delivering a keynote address at the 7th Asean Finance Ministers'
Investors Seminar entitled "Discovering Tomorrow's Asean" here.

On Monday, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there was no need for
another high tower in the country yet because there were signs of property glut.


Najib, who is Finance Minister, said it was up to Permodalan Nasional,
Malaysia's biggest fund management company, to do the financial calculation.

On a perception that Warisan Merdeka would overshadow the 88-storey Petronas
Twin Towers, which was credited to Dr Mahathir, he said: "That is a totally
frivolous statement. We are talking about continuity.

"What Mahathir has done is admirable but what we need to do is build on his
success and move on and develop Malaysia."

Besides, he said, Warisan Merdeka was project of 10 years and beyond and the
area around Stadium Merdeka, where the project is proposed to take place, was a
strategic area.

"It is a long term project. It is not to be viewed 2-3 years.

"If you look at the skyline of Kuala Lumpur in 2020, it cannot be the same as
today. Pudong in Shanghai has so many skyscrapers. Certainly, much much more.

"Let us try to visualise the KL in the year 2020. Let us look at the long term
perspective. After all, if Vision 2020 is achieved it is about a vision that was
initiated by Mahathir himself," he said.