Fri, November 06, 2009
SHANGHAI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's central government has officially approved the Shanghai Disneyland Project, the Shanghai municipal government announced Wednesday.
The government's information office said that talks had started on details of the project, which was planned in the Pudong New District of Shanghai.
Disney president and CEO Robert Iger in a statement that 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 China's mainland.
Officials with the foreign investment department in the Pudong New District government said several big state-owned firms in Shanghai would form a joint venture with the Walt Disney Co. to invest in the project.
The Shanghai municipal government and the Walt Disney Co. had reached an agreement concerning the major issues of building the first Disneyland on the Chinese mainland, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said in January.
The multi-billion dollar project is expected to benefit industries, including property development, hotels, transportation and entertainment, said Hou Zhigang, an associate professor at the Shanghai-based Fudan University.
