Govt starts acquiring land for Rs32b 'Disneyland' theme park

The Disney theme park will be developed in two years

LAHORE:

The government has started the land acquisition process for the proposed Disneyland-like theme park in Lahore. A Chinese company will build the facility at an estimated cost of Rs32 billion.

“The government has started the process to acquire 650 acres under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894,” Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Director General Shakeel Ahmad told The Express Tribune.

Once the preliminary investigation – required under the law – is completed, the district collector will carry out assessment of properties to be acquired.



“The government wants to acquire land at the earliest. To avoid any litigation and delay, it has chosen a site where land is mostly owned by the state,” Ahmad said. He said that after fulfilling all legal obligations, the government would ask the investors to start developing the facility.

He said the Chinese company, Golden Bean, would build the park and an aquarium near Kala Shah Kaku along the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-2).

“The mega project will take nearly two years to complete. The provincial government and the PHA are facilitating the project,” Ahmad said. The Chinese company will build the park from its own resources.

Earlier, Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal said that the provincial government had guaranteed uninterrupted electricity supply through special feeders for the project. The government will also construct a road leading to the park.

The commissioner said the theme park would have a rollercoaster, a five-star hotel, an aquarium and business and shopping centres. He said the Chinese investors had expressed their willingness to develop the park at a recent seminar on Investment Opportunities in the Punjab.



Golden Bean has built the Fantasy Amusement Park in Changchun, China. The park has a single ring double spiral rollercoaster, an 88-metre Ferris wheel, a large pendulum for 42 people, boat surfing and a rapid windmill.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd,  2016.