Hengqin bets on theme park to lure punters from Macau
Print Edition
It’s being touted as China’s answer to Orlando, a US$5 billion resort and theme park complete with a mega rollercoaster and a whale shark tank situated on a sleepy southern island next to the gambling hub Macau.
Chimelong, which is set to partially open next month, is the linchpin of China’s ambitious plans to expand Hengqin Island into a leisure hub similar to the coastal US city globally renowned for its natural attractions and theme-park resorts by Walt Disney Co and Universal Studios.
While some extravagant infrastructure projects in China have turned into white elephants, the odds are on Hengqin’s side, largely due to the support of the government and the island’s proximity to the millions of tourists who throng to Macau every year.
“I don’t have many doubts that it will be successful,” said Philip Tulk, director of equities research at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, referring to the island which the government designated as a special economic zone five years ago.
The construction boom on Hengqin, just a 10-minute drive from Macau, comes at a time when mega-resorts are being developed in Asia to tap the region’s growing ranks of wealthy tourists.
Most of these visitors are Chinese and many choose to stay close to home, heading to Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.
Hengqin, which is three times the size of Macau, also boasts long, sandy beaches and thick, mountainous forests.
“Macau is small and there are too many people. Chimelong is a good complement. It is positioned as leisure tourism,” said Niu Jing, director of the administrative committee of the Hengqin New Area.
The Hengqin model also fits in with China’s plans to boost consumer spending to lift the economy and wean growth away from the manufacturing sector.
Local officials say Hengqin has so far attracted investments worth 240 billion yuan (US$39 billion) from companies like Hong Kong conglomerate Shun Tak, Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Pansy Ho, Hong Kong’s richest woman and managing director of Shun Tak, calls Hengqin the perfect solution for Macau. The property-to-transport conglomerate is building a complex that will include offices, homes and a hotel on the island.
The government has banned gambling on Hengqin, but that has not deterred Macau’s billion-dollar casino operators. Galaxy Entertainment is considering investing in sports stadiums, golf courses and a marina on the island, Deputy Chairman Francis Lui said. “The customer is wanting a bigger and bigger experience ... and in Macau, we just don’t have the land and it would be too expensive,” he said.
Hengquin is connected to Macau through two underwater tunnels. By 2016, it will also be linked to Macau in the east and Hong Kong to the north by a bridge. Rail services will also be extended to Hengqin.
The island is also hoping to lure business with tax breaks and new financial policies that include allowing companies to develop offshore business in foreign currencies and piloting the exchange of the renminbi, Macau pataca and Hong Kong dollar.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
