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Ryomyong New Town

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Ryomyong New Town (Korean: 려명거리신도시) refers to a new town located in Pyongyang, North Korea. The exact location is Ryomyong Avenue which refers from Yongsaengtap to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Taesong-guyok.

Contents

Name

The name 'Ryomyong' means 'dawn' in Korean language. Due to the background of North Korean society, it normally refers to Kim Il-sung, often called as "The Sun of North Korea".

Project

The project was proposed by Kim Jong Un in March 2016 and the planned completion was in August of the same year. There were several outdated buildings in Ryomyong Avenue, but due to the plan, all of them were demolished. Construction was started in March 2016.

It consists of 40 of new condominiums, 33 of refurbished condominiums and 34 of public facilities including 6 schools, 3 kindergartens and 3 nurseries. Also, 7 buildings for Kim Il Sung University will be built and 15 of commercial buildings will be constructed. Around the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, only small and idyllic buildings will be built due to the height restrictions. The motto is 'Green city, energy-reduced city'.

The construction was started on March 2016 and topped-out in August of the same year. Total 1.7 billion won were used and the total areas are 151500㎡.

Ryomyong Condominium

This condominium is 82-storied, with the height of 270m. It should be completed before 2016 is ended. Currently, only structures are completed and designing is planned. It was paused for a while due to a flood incident in North Hamgyong province, but restarted and it is estimated to complete in 15th April 2017.

If it is built, the condominium will be recorded as de facto the highest building of North Korea, since Ryugyong Hotel (de jure the highest building) is only topped-out in 1992 and keep unsure in 2017.

Poor construction

However, it is often criticised as poor construction, especially 270m of condominium was built just in 74 days. This is quite short if compared to another well-known skyscrapers such as Petronas Twin Tower (4~5 years) and Burj Khalifa (5 years). A South Korean expert said, "To build 270m of skyscraper, construction should be done for at least 2 years or more."

Some experts criticise that, due to the poor construction, it could easily collapse. It was shown in 2014 at Pyongchon-guyok.

Human rights

Human rights were issued during the constructions as normal people were forced to join construction.

References

Ryomyong New Town Wikipedia