NEWS
Disney given green light on Shanghai park
WORLD
THE Walt Disney Company has received approval to develop a theme park in the Pudong district of Shanghai, marking the amusement giant’s first foray into mainland China. After assessing Disney’s project application report, China’s planning agency confirmed it would move forward towards a final agreement, after which time the US- based operator will begin preliminary development work on the park. “China is one of the most dynamic,
exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for The Walt Disney Company in mainland China,” said Disney president and CEO Robert Iger. Upon completion of the final
agreement, the project’s initial phase would include a Magic Kingdom-style theme park with characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region and other amenities consistent with Disney’s destination
resorts worldwide. Speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony which took
place in December at the site of Disney’s new Shanghai attraction, the group’s Asia executive Bill Ernest sought to allay fears the mainland resort would draw customers away from the existing park in Hong Kong. “We think there’s plenty of room,” Ernest said. “We think there’s plenty of business there that supports both parks.”
Madame Tussauds heads to Thailand
UK attractions giant Merlin Entertainments has announced plans to open a Madame Tussauds wax museum in Thailand. Working in partnership with developer Siam Piwat,
the THB500m (US$15m) attraction will be housed in the Siam Discovery Centre in Bangkok. The venue will mark Merlin’s 10th Madame Tussauds museum worldwide and the third in Asia, after successful openings in Shanghai and Hong Kong. “We are delighted to be opening a Madame Tussauds in
Bangkok,” said Merlin Entertainments Midway managing director Glenn Earlam. “It will be a unique attraction, in a unique city.” Merlin, which continues to
increase its footprint in the burgeoning Asian attractions market, recently announced the region’s first ever Legoland themed attraction will open in Malaysia in 2012, fully one year ahead of schedule.
ProFun to manage Egypt family park
PROFUN Management Group, a California-based attractions management firm, has been selected by The Heliopolis Association of Egypt to provide operational management and strategic direction for the new Suzanne Mubarak Family Park currently under construction in “new Cairo.” Due to open in mid-
2010, the new 28ha park is being overseen by Egypt’s first lady, Suzanne Mubarak. It will purportedly be the first of its kind in the world that fully combines both education-museum quality learning and interactive programmes in a family entertainment theme park garden setting. Commenting on the appointment, David Schmitt,
president and CEO of ProFun, said: “Within just two weeks of our selection, we had our initial operations and management team on the ground in Cairo to work on the final phases of the park’s construction and organise pre- opening activities.” Located in the newly formed Helwan Governorate of
Egypt, “new Cairo” has been developed on desert plains approximately 20km south of Cairo. Developed as a home for Egypt’s upper classes, it is the home of the new campus of the American University in Cairo, as well as the German University in Cairo, the Future University in Egypt and the Canadian International College.
Plans submitted for Nigeria resort
THE CDS Group has completed its conceptual master plan for a new US$80m amusement park in Nigeria. The CDS consortium, which announced its intentions
to develop a 200-acre park in May 2009, said it plans to utilise a “holistic approach” to divide the resort into “multi- faceted activity groupings that will spur tourist attractions and provide visitors with everlasting memories.” Financing will be arranged through the Ex-Im Bank’s
new $300m credit facility for Nigeria. Diamond Capital, a subsidiary of Diamond Bank, Nigeria, has also expressed interest in providing the local bank guarantee. Construction of the park, which will be located in the
mainland state of Enugu, is expected to start in early 2010 and be completed by December 2012.
8
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44