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Thursday May 10, 10:13 PMParamount, Daewoo to build $1 bln Korea theme parkSEOUL, May 10 (Reuters) - Hollywood film studio Paramount Pictures Corp plans to build a South Korean theme park costing up to $1 billion with a local partner, the U.S. entertainment group's first amusement resort outside North America.Paramount, known for hits such as "Titanic" and "Mission Impossible", will build the resort with South Korea's Daewoo Motor Sales Corp. in the airport city of Inchon, south of Seoul, the two companies said on Thursday. The facility, on a 50-hectare plot, will feature rides, movie studios, a 300-room hotel, a water park, a media centre and shopping malls. It is due to open in 2009, aiming to lure a growing number of Asian tourists as well as South Korea's affluent population. Construction will start this year and the whole park will be completed before the 2014 Asian Games to be held in Inchon. The plan will make Paramount the first and only foreign entertainment firm to operate a theme park in South Korea. Two of the country's biggest conglomerates, Lotte Group and Samsung Group, each have one theme park in Seoul Walt Disney Co. has Disneyland parks in Japan and Hong Kong, and Universal Studios, part of General Electric Co. , runs a theme park in Osaka, Japan. Paramount said in a statement that Daewoo, a South Korean automobile sales company that also has a construction business, will be responsible for raising the funding for development and construction. Paramount will provide access to its intellectual property library and other planning services. A feasibility study by Economics Research Associates had put the cost for the theme park at $800 million, according to Paramount. A Daewoo executive also confirmed later that the company alone would raise the funds, but added he expected Paramount to help with finding investors. Other Hollywood entertainment giants including MGM Studios and Universal Studios are also looking to make forays into South Korea. (Additional reporting by Rhee So-eui) |
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