PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS: Identical Towers, Identical Wonders

One of the land marks in Malaysia are the Twin Skyscrapers known as the Petronas Towers or also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or in Malay it is called as, Menara Petronas, or Menara Berkembar Petronar. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)’s official definition and ranking, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world. It is located nearby the Kuala Lumpur Tower.

The towers were designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli. The construction of the superstructure commenced on 1 April 1994. Interiors with furniture were completed on 1 January 1996, the spires of Tower 1 and Tower 2 were completed on 1 March 1996, and the first batch of Petronas personnel moved into the building on 1 January 1997. The building was officially opened by the Prime Minister of Malaysia’s Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad on 1 August 1999.

Inside the Towers are the:

•  Offices of the Petronas personell.
• Also a number of companies have offices in Tower Two, including Huawei Technologies, AVEVA, Al Jazeera English.
• The Suria which is a 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft) upmarket retail center at the feet of the Petronas Towers. It features mostly foreign luxury goods and high-street labels. Its attractions include an art gallery, a philharmonic theatre, an underwater aquarium and also a Science center. Suria KLCC is one of the largest shopping malls in Malaysia.
• The Skybridge, the towers feature a double decker skybridge connecting the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story bridge in the world. It is not attached to the main structure, but is instead designed to slide in and out of the towers to prevent it from breaking, as the towers sway several feet[specify] in towards and away from each other during high winds.

In order to visit Petronas towers, visitors must first purchase the tickets. Tickets of adults and children can be purchased via online web portal or at the counter. Discounted tickets for seniors are available for those 55 years of age and above. Queues for tickets can get quite long sometimes. But if you dont’t want to buy a ticket (like me) the view on the outside is also spectacular.