Merlin Entertainments has announced plans to open a new Legoland Resort in Belgium by 2027. The attraction would be built on a former Caterpillar industrial site in Charleroi.
The resort and its infrastructure would initially cover an area of 70 hectares, with a land reserve of 20 hectares set aside for future extensions and developments. Construction would cost between €370 and €400 million.
“This is another exciting ‘building block’ laid for bringing a potential Legoland Resort to the many Lego fans across Wallonia, Benelux and northern France,” says John Jakobsen, Merlin‘s COO for Legoland Resorts.
“We will continue to work closely with the Walloon government and the City of Charleroi and our stakeholder partners at Sogepa, SFPI and Soresic to hopefully make this vision an awesome reality.”
Merlin already operates three Legoland Resorts in Europe. Legoland Deutschland in Germany, which made its debut in 2002, was the last European resort to open.
Construction to cost up to €400m
“I am pleased in more than one way that Wallonia can welcome this investment,” says Elio Di Rupo, minister-president of Wallonia.
If it gets the green light, the resort in Belgium would be the 14th Legoland Resort in the world. There are currently 10 resorts, with three more opening in China. The project will create more than 1,000 jobs.
“With the project to establish a Legoland in Charleroi, we are taking a new step in a strong and constantly developing sector: that of leisure and tourism,” adds economy minister Willy Borsus.
“The Walloon leisure ecosystem is already well developed and this project will strengthen it in the best possible way, as Lego is a strong brand that is appreciated by the majority of people.
“It is therefore an opportunity to be seized for Wallonia, both for employment, the visibility of our region and the economy as a whole. The Legoland project will also make it possible to achieve a major objective of the government: to rehabilitate our industrial wastelands.”
Images: Merlin
