The world’s second tallest building, the Merdeka PNB 118 tower in Kuala Lumpur, has topped out at 678m after a five-year construction period.

The building was designed by Melbourne architect Fender Katsalidis for developer PNB Merdeka and built by Turner Construction, the US subsidiary of Spain’s ACS.

When completed next year, the 350,000-sq-m building will combine a hotel, offices, apartments and shops.

The official height of the building is measured from the top of its 35m spire. The main roof is actually 644m high which is still 12m taller than Gensler’s Shanghai Tower, the previous holder of the second highest building title behind the 828m Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The tower is located on a 7.7ha site and overtops the Stadium Merdeka, which was built for Malaysia’s Declaration of Independence in 1957.