Hong Kong theme park Ocean Park has secured financing for its HK$5.5bn (£384m, US$708m, 562m euro) redevelopment project.
The scheme, which will see the park split into two distinct areas, the Waterfront – formerly the Lowland – and The Summit – formerly the Headland, has arranged HK$4.2bn (£293m, US$541m, 429m euro) in loan facilities from commercial banks and a further HK$1.4bn (£98m, US$180m, 143m euro) loan from the Hong Kong SAR government.
Work on the park, which will double the number of attractions from 35 to more than 70, is set to begin later this year and take between five and six years to complete. The park will remain open throughout.
The Waterfront will consist of three themed zones: Aqua City, which will house the Ocean Park Grand Aquarium complex; Birds of Paradise, a tropical area; and Whiskers Harbour, where families can find Ocean Parks’ signature characters.
The Summit will showcase animals and entertainment from four different global climate zones: Marine World, Rainforest, Thrill Mountain and Polar Adventure.
The project is expected to bring economic benefits of between HK$40-80bn (£2.8-5.6bn, US$5.2-10.3bn, 4-8.2bn euro) over the next 40 years and create 11,300-12,800 jobs by 2021/22.
Allan Zeman, chair of Ocean Park, said: “For the past 29 years, Ocean Park has delighted, stimulated and created enormous joy for its millions of visitors from around the world. We are proud to see Ocean Park grow into a landmark destination, becoming the pride of Hong Kong as one of the top theme parks in the world. The new Ocean Park will also continue to promote conservation and environmental education.
“We are committed to delivering on our promise to build a world-class, state-of-the-art marine-based theme park, which will position Hong Kong as a global tourist hub. We want all Hong Kong people to be proud of their homegrown Ocean Park.”
