Universal signs deal for its 3rd Asian resort

By FROM NEWS REPORTS Jan 19 2010 , SEOUL

Universal Studios signed an agreement Tuesday to build a 3 trillion won theme park

in South Korea, its third and largest in Asia, reviving a plan delayed for two years by lack of funding.

Financing was secured from Lotte Group of South Korea, operator of the retailer Lotte Shopping, and Posco, one of the world’s largest steel makers.

Construction by Posco Engineering & Construction is set to begin in 2011. A movie theme park, a water park and a resort, including a golf course and condominiums, are due to open in early 2014 in Hwaseong, near Seoul and the country’s main international airport in Incheon.

Plans for the $2.67 billion resort were first announced in November 2007. Universal has secured 15 partners, led by Lotte Asset Development, with a 26.7 percent stake, and Posco Engineering & Construction, with a 24.4 percent stake.

The project will create as many as 100,000 jobs, Kim Moon Soo, governor of Gyeonggi Province, said Tuesday in Seoul.

The park in Korea will be bigger than all of Universal’s other parks combined, Mr. Kim said. Universal, which is set to be taken over by Comcast, has a park in Osaka, Japan, and is opening one in Singapore. It also has parks in Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida, in the United States.

The new park is expected to attract 15 million visitors a year from South Korea and abroad.

Tom Williams, chief executive of Universal Parks & Resorts, declined to comment on how much Universal planned to invest in the project or on where else in Asia it was looking to build theme parks. (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, AP)