Ryomyong New Town

Ryomyong New Town ( ko, 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.

Name

The name "Ryomyong" means "dawn" in Korean language.

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 There were several outdated buildings in Ryomyong Avenue, but due to the plan, all of them were demolished.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 new condominiums, 33 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 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-saving city'. All apartments have passive solar heating systems, geothermal systems and solar panels.

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

Ryomyong Condominium

This condominium has 82 stories, with a height of 270 m. Construction was started in March 2016 but was temporarily on-hold due to redirection of construction to flooding in North Hamgyong province. It was restarted and was estimated to complete on 15 April 2017.

The condominium is ''de facto'' the highest building of North Korea, since Ryugyong Hotel (''de jure'' the highest building) was topped-out in 1989 and has yet to open.

Construction was completed by 13 April 2017 and officially opened just after 2 days.

Criticism

Poor construction

Construction has been described as rushed, with 270m of condominium built in just 74 days. This is quite short compared to other 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."

Another 23-story apartment building in Pyongchon-guyok, , collapsed in P'yŏngch'ŏn district around May 18, 2014, potentially killing hundreds of people. The cause of the collapse has been officially declared by North's official Korean Central News Agency as "irresponsible supervision and control".{{cite web, url=http://news1.kr/articles/?2701192, publisher=news1.kr, title='하루에 아파트 1층씩'...지금 평양은 대규모 '날림' 공사중?, date=25 June 2016, accessdate=2016-09-29

Relation to other building projects

The new town is one of a number of "monumental" projects 2012-2017 including the Pyongyang Sci-Tech Complex, new Natural History Museum, new People's Open-air Ice Rink, Changjon Street (창전거리), Unha Scientists Street, Wisong Scientists Street (위성과학자거리), Mirae Street and Ryomyong Street.Pyongyang Times 8 June 201
- This is my new home
"In retrospect, for the past five years, lots of monumental structures and modern factories have sprung up in Pyongyang, including the Sci-Tech Complex, Natural History Museum and People's Open-air Ice Rink. And five new streets have been built in the period, namely Changjon, Unha Scientists, Wisong Scientists, Mirae and Ryomyong streets. In other words, every year has witnessed a street coming into being."

References

External links

360° street view of Ryomyong New Town
- DPRK 360

Skyscrapers in North Korea
2016 establishments in North Korea