Work on Shanghai Disneyland to start April 8
Construction of the world’s sixth Disney amusement park will start in Shanghai Friday following years of negotiations between the US company and Chinese authorities, the Wall Street Journal said. Walt Disney Co. and its local partners have issued invitations to “a special event in Shanghai” on April 8, the paper reported Saturday, quoting an anonymous source.
AFP could not immediately confirm the report with the Shanghai municipal authorities or Disney’s Chinese partner, the Shanghai Shendi Group Co. Ltd., the consortium that will operate the project.
Shanghai’s mayor has estimated the amusement park will cost 24.4 billion yuan ($3.7 billion), the Journal said, which would make it one of the largest foreign investments in China. The park will cover 963 acres (390 hectares), which makes it just a 26th of the size of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the business paper said. Work on the project, which was approved by Beijing in 2009, has fallen behind the schedule previously reported by the Chinese media, which had said construction would begin in November 2010.
Can’t wait till this project is complete!