The pyramid shaped, 105-storey hotel in North Korea has been half-built since a decade, and will now open its gates next year. This construction has been termed as “Hotel of Doom” by media due to repeated delays. It is the 47th tallest building in the world, standing at 330 metres and also has the fifth greatest number of floors, reports BBC.
The original plans included 3,000 rooms and five revolving restaurants. The new plans for the hotel have been scaled back considerably. The hotel will now feature 150 rooms on the top floors of the building. The three lower levels will feature lobby, restaurants and a shopping centre, while the rest of the upper floors will be mostly used for offices. The hotel will also feature a viewing platform on 95th floor with further plans for a banqueting hall.
Cairo-based Orascom Telecom invested $180 million to improve the building’s exterior, which has now been completed. The hotel features a vast glass-covered lobby and atrium with tiers of bare concrete at its base, resembling a multi-storey car park. Orascom is currently working on the interior.
As per Channel NewsAsia, a Swiss hotel chain plans to complete the construction and open it for guests sometime in July or August 2013.
The Ryugyong Hotel began construction in 1987. In 1991, the construction was put on a hault due to the economic crisis.
