It was once dubbed by Esquire magazine as ‘the worst building in the history of mankind’ and seen as a symbol of the country’s failure, but 22 years after the first brick was laid, the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel may finally be finished in three years’ time, reported the Telegraph.
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Work on ‘worst building in history’ restarted
Reuters
17 October 2009
PYONGYANG: It was once dubbed by Esquire magazine as ‘the worst building in the history of mankind’ and seen as a symbol of the country’s failure, but 22 years after the first brick was laid, the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel may finally be finished in three years’ time, reported the Telegraph.
A string of building problems and funding shortage meant the hotel was left unfinished and became a source of embarrassment for North Korea’s leaders.
Officials want to finally finish the building by April 15, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the nation, said the British newspaper report.
Construction of the hotel started in 1987 during his reign and was originally scheduled to be completed in June 1989. But work stopped completely when funds ran out in 1993.
The project was revived when Egypt’s Orascom Group saw the potential in North Korea’s telecommunications market. It began work last year to assess the state of the building and to refurbish some of the upper floors of the hotel, and started installing glass panelling and telecommunications antennas.
The company’s telecoms unit has confirmed it has signed a US$400 million (S$557 million) deal that grants the firm rights to develop advanced mobile phone infrastructure in North Korea for an initial 100,000 subscribers - all government officials - to its mobile phones.
The 3,000-room hotel consists of three wings rising at 75-degree angles, capped by several floors meant to hold revolving restaurants and an observation deck.
South Korean media reports said it would cost up to US$2 billion to finish the hotel.
The latest images of the building show that at least one side of the hotel and the floors with the revolving restaurants are now fully covered in glass.
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