Shanghai set to build Disneyland

November 02, 2009 03:36:47 PM

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The Chinese government could give the green light this week for a multi-billion dollar Disney theme park in Shanghai, a report said Monday.

Quoting an unnamed government official with direct knowledge of the project, the South China Morning Post said the 3.6 billion dollar amusement park had been approved.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng told media Sunday that there would be an announcement later this week, but he declined to confirm whether the plan had received final approval, the report said.

"What I can say at this moment is that we will hold a press conference to announce the details of the project in the near future," Han was quoted as saying.

In a statement, Disney said the park had yet to be confirmed although the company and Shanghai officials submitted a proposal to China's central government.

"No deal has been agreed to, no project has been approved," Leslie Goodman, Disney's executive vice president for worldwide public affairs, said in the statement Monday.

Shanghai has been working for almost a decade to land a world-class amusement park, partly to shore up its lagging economic growth compared with other Chinese cities, the report said.

There had been speculation that the announcement would be made during US President Barack Obama's visit to China later this month, the report said.

Hong Kong opened a Disney theme park in 2005.