Chinese stall Universal theme-park construction
From Staff And Wire Reports
July 16, 2004
SHANGHAI, China (Orlando Sentinel) -- Authorities in Shanghai have suspended work on a Universal Studios theme park as China slows down major building projects in an effort to cool off surging economic growth, a city official said Thursday.
It was unclear when, or if, work on the theme park and other projects might resume.
Wyman Roberts, marketing chief for Universal Parks and Resorts, said Universal had not received any official word from Chinese authorities confirming the report.
"We're still in active discussions with our partners" on the status of the project, he said.
However, sources close to the studio said it appears unlikely that the proposed theme park, which was set to open in 2006, will go ahead.
Executives at General Electric Co., whose NBC unit acquired Universal's movie studio, theme parks and TV business earlier this year, have expressed reluctance to expand the high cost and low-margin theme-park business in China or elsewhere.
The China's park's future has been in doubt since May, when Universal laid off two dozen people in the Orlando-based design group hired to work on the proposed amusement park.
The struggling theme-park division has been steadily slashing costs and retreating from international growth plans to shore up its bottom line. Universal recently sold its 37 percent interest in a theme-park resort near Barcelona, Spain, for $30 million.
The Chinese state-run newspaper 21st Century Business Herald said in an online report that land-clearing work had started, but was suspended pending approval from the State Council.
The park was supposed to compete with a new Disneyland scheduled to open in Hong Kong in 2005.
The government has been tightening bank lending and canceling or postponing projects to curb soaring investment that it says is fueling inflation and may cause problems.
The official who commented on the Universal park, an executive in the city's Metropolitan Transportation Policy Office, said other postponed projects include an underwater tunnel and subway lines.
From Staff And Wire Reports
July 16, 2004
SHANGHAI, China (Orlando Sentinel) -- Authorities in Shanghai have suspended work on a Universal Studios theme park as China slows down major building projects in an effort to cool off surging economic growth, a city official said Thursday.
It was unclear when, or if, work on the theme park and other projects might resume.
Wyman Roberts, marketing chief for Universal Parks and Resorts, said Universal had not received any official word from Chinese authorities confirming the report.
"We're still in active discussions with our partners" on the status of the project, he said.
However, sources close to the studio said it appears unlikely that the proposed theme park, which was set to open in 2006, will go ahead.
Executives at General Electric Co., whose NBC unit acquired Universal's movie studio, theme parks and TV business earlier this year, have expressed reluctance to expand the high cost and low-margin theme-park business in China or elsewhere.
The China's park's future has been in doubt since May, when Universal laid off two dozen people in the Orlando-based design group hired to work on the proposed amusement park.
The struggling theme-park division has been steadily slashing costs and retreating from international growth plans to shore up its bottom line. Universal recently sold its 37 percent interest in a theme-park resort near Barcelona, Spain, for $30 million.
The Chinese state-run newspaper 21st Century Business Herald said in an online report that land-clearing work had started, but was suspended pending approval from the State Council.
The park was supposed to compete with a new Disneyland scheduled to open in Hong Kong in 2005.
The government has been tightening bank lending and canceling or postponing projects to curb soaring investment that it says is fueling inflation and may cause problems.
The official who commented on the Universal park, an executive in the city's Metropolitan Transportation Policy Office, said other postponed projects include an underwater tunnel and subway lines.