Lawmakers finally approve funding for Hong Kong Disneyland expansion
The Hong Kong Legislative Council last week approved a $1.4 billion expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland which will see the addition of Frozen and more Marvel themed attractions.
A vote to authorise the taxpayer-funded expansion has taken several months as HK politicians believe it gets a raw deal in the joint venture with Disney.
They have been particularly critical of Disney continuing to receive millions in management fees despite the park posting losses.
"We have gone through a lot of analysis. We’ve also pushed very hard in the negotiation. We believe that this package is really the best package that we can achieve," said commerce minister Greg So Kam-leung.
To push through the expansion, Disney offered to equally split the cost and said will waive some management fees for two years.
In return Disney will increase its stake from 47% to 48%. The government’s ownership stake falls to 52%.
This was viewed as a ‘take it or leave it’ final offer.
The expansion will take at least five years to complete with work beginning in 2018.
"Hong Kong Disneyland Resort’s multi-year expansion that will leverage some of the most popular stories of the Disney brand including Marvel and ‘Frozen’," said Samuel Lau, executive VP and managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
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