Hong Kong could give up the Disney project in favour of Shanghai if it found it was unable to compete with the mainland city's lower costs, Shanghai's mayor said yesterday.
Xu Kuangdi said the construction cost of a Disney park in Shanghai would be US$1 billion (HK$7.74 billion), half of the projected cost in Hong Kong. 'Hong Kong can choose not to bid [for the project],' he said when asked if the SAR needed to reduce the construction costs.
Mr Xu believed Shanghai would be able to satisfy all the requirements set by the US entertainment giant including transport, environment and infrastructure.
The proposed site at Pudong would be 10 square km in size and only 5km from the airport, he said. But he declined to say if Shanghai would have an advantage over Hong Kong and Zhuhai.
Former Zhuhai mayor Liang Guangda said contacts between the Zhuhai authorities and Disney were still under way.
He declined to say which city would have a better chance of landing the theme park, saying all three had their merits.