"Phantom Hotel" Back!

Recently, the Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea has been started construction again! This amazing hotel has been vacant for quite sometime now and I am oh so glad that they are starting work on it again. 

This amazing 105-storey building is back under construction after 16 years of being vacant. An Egyptian company recently purchased the building and started working on the top floors of the building. The Egyptian company has dreams for the building such as communication towers on the top of the building; ironically, the North Korean government doesn't allow their citizens cell phones... 

The communist North began constructing this building in 1987 to compete with South Korea as they held the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1992, the project was put on hold as the economy began to go under. The cost of revamping this building is estimated $2 billion dollars (about 10% of North Korea's annual economic output). 

This building is quite amazing and it really is a shame that it has taken this long for it to be completed. This could be a turning point in the North's economy and a turn in their architectural stance as a country. 

I'm glad this is coming back! 

n.tm

Read more about the "Hotel of Doom"