A rendering of the Busan Lotte Tower is seen in this image provided by Lotte Shopping Co.
BUSAN, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Construction on the long-delayed Busan Lotte Tower began with a groundbreaking ceremony in the southeastern port city Thursday.
Lotte Shopping Co., the retail affiliate of Lotte Group, held the groundbreaking ceremony for the 67-story, 342.5-meter skyscraper to be built on the former site of Busan City Hall in the center of the city by 2026.
The Busan Lotte Tower is set to become the nation’s third-tallest building after the 555-meter Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul and the 411-meter LCT Landmark Tower in Busan.
The groundbreaking came about 20 years after the project was first announced.
Lotte Shopping obtained a construction permit for a Lotte Department Store outlet at the site in 2000 on condition that the company also builds the Busan Lotte Tower there.
As construction of the skyscraper did not show any progress, however, the Busan city government briefly refused to extend the temporary operating permit for the department store last year.
Lotte Shopping said the skyscraper will showcase a variety of tourist attractions, including a differentiated rooftop observatory with a 360-degree view of the city and a shopping mall complex with unique stores that can attract domestic and foreign tourists.
The city government and the company also expect that the Busan Lotte Tower will become a key landmark if the city succeeds in its bid to host the 2030 World Expo.
(Yonhap)
