North Korea to open one of the largest hotels of the world

That's the one, in 2009.

Ryugyong Hotel, a construction project that started in North Korea in the 1980s, is finally coming to an end. At the time, this was going to be the tallest building in the world. However, with the economy of the nation collapsing and the Soviet Union dissolving, the project lost its funding and put on hold indefinitely in 1992. For 16 years, it just sat there, looking like a dystopian relic you would only see in video games (picture above).

The pyramid-shaped hotel, the largest structure in North Korea and one of the tallest hotels in the world, will open in 2012, 33 years after it was originally set to accept guests.
Construction on the project was stalled for 15 years until 2008, when Egyptian conglomerate Orascom committed $400 million to finishing it, Architizer reported.
The tower's sleek and shiny facade was finally completed this year.
The hotel, which has more than 3,000 rooms, will reportedly have five revolving restaurants. It is the only hotel in the world with more than 100 stories (source)

Now, the hotel looks a lot less horrifying :

 

This construction project was actually finished by an Egyptian telecommunication company. The hotel is now ready to open, but the resort area around the hotel is not complete yet - they are still looking for investors.


You have probably seen/heard of this once-abandoned project. You can look it up on Wikipedia, or check out the Cracked article here for more : 6 Reasons North Korea is the Funniest Evil Dictatorship Ever Read more: 6 Reasons North Korea is the Funniest Evil Dictatorship Ever (go to number 4)