World¡¯s tallest building, 2nd Lotte World, to be constructed in Pusan

Construction work on the second Lotte World in Pusan, which will be the tallest building in the world, will kick off in the middle of next month.

The massive structure, to be built on the lot of the former Pusan City Hall, will have 107 stories and seven underground stories. It will stand 464.5 meters with total floor space of 140,528 pyong (one pyong is equivalent to 3.3 square meters).

The construction is scheduled for completion in November 2005 at a total cost of 1.2 billion won (slightly more than US$100 million).

If completed, the second Lotte World will be 5.5 meters higher than the current tallest building in the world, the World Finance Center in Shanghai, China, which has 94 stories and stands 459 meters.

Lotte Shopping Co. is in charge of the complex¡¯s construction. Three independent buildings for hotel, department store and entertainment facilities will be connected.

The basements will house parking lots and electrical and mechanical facilities. The first 18 floors will be used for physical fitness centers, banquets, movie houses, restaurants and other facilities, while the 19th to 90th floors will provide hotel rooms. The remaining stories to the 107th will house banquet rooms, physical fitness centers, an observatory and a theme park.

The southern port city of Pusan is expected to collect 15 billion won a year in district taxes when the 2nd Lotte World begins operations. The new building will create jobs for 18,000 people and a total of about 500,000 people will be hired for the construction.

Pusan City Hall licensed the construction on the condition that Lotte expands the current four lanes of the Yongdo Grand Bridge to six until it obtains the approval for the use of the building.

The city government also made it compulsory for Lotte to obtain the approval of the city¡¯s construction committee for the structure¡¯s design and night lighting facilities before it begins building its foundations.

Jo Young-Hwi silent@donga.com