14 Mar 2016
Billionaire Lui Che-Woo looks to theme park sector to draw non-gambling visitors to Macau
BY Tom Anstey
Multi-billionaire casino tycoon Lui Che-Woo is entering the theme park game, with plans for an “Avatar-like” project at his HK$86bn (US$11bn, €10bn £7.7bn) Chinese resort destination, Galaxy Macau.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Che-Woo, who chairs the Galaxy Entertainment Group, said the company would be including “something special and high-tech” in the next two phases of the resort development, which would be a theme park similar in style to the movie Avatar.
Comparing the plans to the upcoming US$5.5bn (US$7.8bn, €7.1bn) Shanghai Disneyland opening 16 June, Che-Woo said his plans were “smaller but unique”.
“Nowadays you already see that all these theme parks all have different special ideas, so we’re thinking of how to compete against them,” he said.
The move is part of a government initiative ordered by President Xi Jinping to diversify tourism in Macau away from gambling, as evidenced by Melco Crown Entertainment’s Hollywood-themed Studio City, which opened in the city last year and features a unique figure-8 Ferris wheel. With an increase in the average wage creating a middle class willing to spend on leisure activities, China’s government wants to attract more non-gambling tourists to generate new income.
Phases three and four of development are expected to cost as much as HK$50bn (US$6.4bn, €5.9bn, £4.5bn) to develop, with delays meaning a planned start by the end of 2013 will now take place closer to the end of 2016.
In addition to the theme park project, future developments will focus on entertainment, culture and sport, with potential plans for Intercontinental and Hilton Hotels also included in phases three and four.
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