Click on the pictures to get a larger sized one.


Above: three views of the skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur,
all three taken from Menara Kuala Lumpur.

KL, as Kuala Lumpur is generally known, is a bustling city with over 2 million people living in the city itself
and its surroundings. KL is a federal territory, directly under the control of the central government.
KL was founded some 145 years ago by Chinese tin searchers who met at the coming together
of the Gombak and Kelang rivers and named the place Kuala Lumpur (muddy confluence).
The tin they discovered attracted more people and made KL grow and grow.
The city was the capital of the Malay States and the Federation of Malaya.
And since the foundation of Malaysia in 1963, it has been the capital of Malaysia.
Today, the city's skyline is a reflection of the economic boom of the 90s, with many
extraordinary skyscrapers, though the depression has hit KL hard as well, and
a few major, planned skyscraper projects have never been built or put on hold
(most notably Plaza Rakyat).
The crown jewels of the city are, of course, the Petronas Twin Towers, the two tallest buildings
in the world, although they lost this title to Taiwan's and
Taipei's Taipei 101 at the end of 2003.


Above: Kuala Lumpur's most famous buildings,
the Petronas Twin Towers (452m/1,483f, 88 stories, 1998).
The two tallest buildings in the world from 1998- 2003.
(Click HERE to go to a special Twin Towers picture page)


Above: Kuala Lumpur's third tallest building, the Menara Telekom (310m/1,017f, 55 stories, 2001).
Though completed in 2001, the building was officially opened in February of 2003.
It is situated a few kilometres outside of the city centre of KL.


Above: one of Kuala Lumpur's most outstanding buildings: the Menara Maybank
(aka: Malayan Bank, 244m/799f, 50 stories, 1988) Menara, by the way, is a Malay word for tower.
This is KL's 4th tallest building. It was the city’s tallest from 1988-1998.
In the background of the picture on the right, is Menara Kuala Lumpur.


Above: Empire Tower, Kuala Lumpur's 5th tallest skyscraper (238m/781f, 62 stories, 1994).


Above: another extraordinary KL skyscraper: Menara Maxis building, (212m/696f, 49 stories, 1998).
The building stands next to the Petronas towers, and although with its 212 metres impressive
on its own, it looks like a midget compared to its two very tall neighbours.


Above: Bangunan AmFinance aka: Plaza MBf (210m/684f, 1998, 50 stories).


Above left: Menara Kuala Lumpur (420m/1,379f).
This tower is the 4th tallest telecommunication tower in the world
(behind CN Tower (Toronto), Ostankino Tower (Russia) and Oriental Pearl Tower (Shanghai)).
It has an observatory on the 276m/905f level and also a revolving restaurant.
Above right: Menara Multi Purpose (198m/650f, 1994, 40 stories).


Above: scheduled for completion in 1999, work on the Plaza Rakyat (382m/1,253f, 79 stories) was still in the early stages,
when this picture was taken in February of 2000. Due to the economic recession that hit Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur
a few years ago, many prestigious projects were called off or put on hold.
The project was still on hold when I visited KL again in February of 2003.

Thanks to norerieff marzuki for some of the detail information on this page.

Click here to go to page 2 of Kuala Lumpur's skyscrapers


Kuala Lumpur's 10 tallest skyscrapers:
1. PETRONAS TOWER I 452m/1,483f, 88 stories, 1998
2. PETRONAS TOWER II 452m/1,483f, 88 stories, 1998
3. MENARA TELEKOM 310m/1,017f, 55 stories, 2001
4. MENARA MAYBANK 244m/799f, 50 stories, 1988
5. EMPIRE TOWER 238m/781f, 62 stories, 1994
6. MENARA MAXIS 212m/696f, 49 stories, 1998
7. BANGUNAN AMFINANCE 210m/689f, 50 stories, 1998
8. BERJAYA TIMES SQUARE, TOWERS A & B 203m/666f, 48 stories, 2003
9. MENARA MULTI PURPOSE 198m/650f, 40 stories, 1994
10. MAJU TOWER 196m/643f, 50 stories, 2002