Universal Studios Project Back on Track

Plans to build a Universal Studios theme park in Korea are back on track now a new investor from China has been found.

State-run utility K-Water, which owns the land in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, said Tuesday that it chose as the preferred negotiating partner to build the movie theme park a multinational consortium consisting of Daewoo Engineering and Construction as well as China State Construction Engineering, China's largest construction company, and Hong Kong-based China Travel Service.

The total cost of the project is estimated at W5 trillion and construction is slated for completion in 2020 (US$1=W1,172). More facilities including a shopping mall, golf course and condominium are to be added by 2030.

Plans for the theme park were originally announced in 2007, but the global financial crisis delayed it and the project was put on hold in 2012 due to issues involving the land and red tape.

The consortium has managed to put together around W850 billion of the total W1.2 trillion needed to finance the project. State-run Korea Development Bank and Hana Bank have pledged to invest around W2 trillion.

Saenuri Party lawmaker Suh Chung-won, who played a leading role in revising regulations to jump-start the project, promised "a huge impact on the economy by creating jobs and attracting tourists" from the theme park.