Hyundai Motor broke ground for a hydrogen refilling station in the middle of the National Assembly complex in Seoul on Thursday, marking the world’s first charging facility for fuel cell electric vehicles to be built at a parliament.

It is also the first commercial hydrogen facility to be built in central Seoul, the company said. The project, the first case of the regulatory sandbox, will start operating at the end of August.

The hydrogen station will operate from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. It is capable of refilling hydrogen gas for more than 70 vehicles. HyNet -- a special purpose company in which Hyundai Motor is the second-largest shareholder -- will be in charge of operating the station by May 2021, when benefits under the regulatory sandbox expire.

Following the official debut of the model in March last year, Hyundai has sold more than 9,000 Nexo units so far, with 1,691 units delivered to customers.

The company plans to build six more hydrogen stations for commercial use this year. It built two last year on the Gyeongbu and Yeongdong highways.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)