(Yicai) April 26 -- The Shanghai International Resort, which is home to Shanghai Disney Resort and other leisure parks, is seeking investment from global investors to develop a new project called “Dongfang Lecheng” that will attract 10 million tourists a year.

Financial services firms Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte and Ernst & Young are partnering with Dongfang Lecheng to source global investment, Fang Shizhong, head of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, said at the opening ceremony of the investment inviting event.

Dongfang Lecheng lies across the river from the Shanghai Disney Resort in the south of the Shanghai International Resort. It covers an area of 2.8 square kilometers and there are plans to construct 2.2 million square meters of buildings and facilities including 600,000 sqm of hotels, 780,000 sqm of entertainment and business facilities, 600,000 sqm of residential areas and 220,000 sqm of supporting facilities.

Dongfang Lecheng will likely create around 30,000 jobs and have a resident population of 17,000 when it is completed, the Shanghai government said.

The new resort will link arms with the Shanghai Disney Resort and other tourist parks in the Shanghai International Resort to enable interconnected development and boost the city’s tourism industry and spending, it said.

The number of visitors to the Shanghai International Resort, including the Shanghai Disney Resort, hit a record high last year, jumping 44 percent from 2019 to 25.6 million. Revenue also reached an all-time high, surging 84 percent over the period to CNY18.5 billion (USD2.6 billion).

In the future, the Shanghai International Resort will receive 70 million tourists a year, the municipal government said.

Editor: Kim Taylor