Dalian Wanda Group have announced plans for a massive cultural tourism project in Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China’s Gansu Province.
Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin met with top officials in Gansu on Friday. Wang said that the company will build a large tourism project in Lanzhou. Additionally, he says, they will build 10 project in other cities in Gansu. Wang did not disclose the amount of the investment.
Song Ding, director of the tourism and real estate research centre at the China Development Institute, told China News that Wanda’s latest move shows “it is still operating soundly.”
“The planned investment in Gansu is a signal that Wanda is still seeking opportunities in cultural and tourism projects.”
Song predicted that Wanda will introduce more partners to invest in the project – as part of the “asset-light strategy” the company has stressed: “I don’t think the company will invest a lot of money alone.”
Provincial party secretary, Lin Duo, said that the Gansu province will do its best to provide services and support for Wanda’s upcoming projects. Lin expressed his hope that Wanda would visit Gansu more often and look for more tourism related cooperation opportunities.
This announcement follows heavy investment from Wanda in theme parks and tourist attractions over the last five years. In 2015, the company announced a number of similar investments in cultural tourism projects in Chinese Provinces. The projects had strong government support – and included a 150 billion yuan ($22.5 billion) investment in central Chongqing municipality.
Earlier this month, Wanda sold a controlling stake in its 13 theme parks to developer Sunac China.
Image Courtesy Dalian Wanda.
https://www.ecns.cn/business/2017/08-22/270218.shtml
