An article has appeared in the La Verdad newspaper today, discussing the future of the Paramount Murcia Theme park which is destined for construction in the municipality of Alhama.
Since the presentation of the conceptual project on March 25th, estate agents have been waiting with baited breath for the news that investment funds have been secured and construction can begin, but although there have been rumours, no formal announcement has yet been made to confirm that investment has been secured.
A team have been carrying out a full viability study on behalf of the Paramount Licensing corporation, and it may be no coincidence that today´s article appears to revise the construction investment estimate to 1.3 billion.
A short time ago a most peculiar article appeared in la Opinión, which hinted at the visit by a mysterious Russian Investor to look at the proposed location for the project, who although he remained mysteriously referred to as " the Russian with no name" throughout the article, raised quite a few eyebrows by stealthily concealing his identity inside a top of the range luxury gold Rolls Royce, having arrived via private jet.
La Verdad have named him today as Oleg Boyko.
Oleg Boyko is a Forbes listed billionaire, who although he has been involved in a wide range of businesses, is currently the majority owner of Ritzio Entertainment, which operates over 1000 Entertainment venues across Russia, Latin America and Europe, a combination of casinos, gaming clubs, night clubs, bars and restaurants.
One of the first possible sources of revenue for the park discussed in the early days of the project was the possibility that this had the potential to attract a casino investor, Russia being an obvious source of investment for this type of product. It´s a logical entertainment partner for a focal point which aims to keep a captive audience within a purpose built complex, spending their money on site and Ritzio are keen to extend further into Europe as gaming controls within Russia are tightened. Europe is also seen as a lucrative development market with no major chain dominating the market, and good operating profits achievable following the existing model developed by the company which employs over 25,000 staff.
However, this is only speculation at the moment, so here´s a fairly accurate representation of the story published today in La Verdad:
The route map for the Paramount theme park is being followed on time, according to the Regional Government, and it is hoped that construction on the site in Alhama de Murcia will start as soon as February. Before that, though, all the urbanism and planning paperwork needs to be finished by the Town Hall of Alhama and the Autonomous Community.
Sources within the company Proyectos Emblemáticos de la Región de Murcia, whose president is Jesús Samper, estimate that an initial investment of 300 million euros will be sufficient to begin work and finish preparing the park itself. Another 1,000 million euros will then be needed to complete the project, and this will happen in various phases related to the different commercial areas and hotels which will be situated both inside and outside the park. The cost of these areas will be borne by the companies taking part in the project.
The promoters believe that the progress of the work will be fast, and it could be finished in 2014, a year before the original prediction, to coincide with the planned opening of the high-speed train line connecting Murcia to the rest of Spain.
In total the development will occupy 108 hectares of land, 37 of which will be home to the actual park. The final studies will be completed in September, and will be taken on a "road show" tour to recruit funds in London, New York, Shanghai and the UAE, among other places.
Some investment funds and business groups have already expressed an interest in taking part in the project, and earlier this year there was a meeting in Madrid with staff of the Chinese Embassy in Spain. Furthermore, a few days ago Murcia was visited by the Russian multi-millionaire Oleg Boyko, who has amassed one of the largest fortunes in Eastern Europe. He came on a lightning visit to find out personally about the planned development.
The Regional Government remains convinced that this project would never have been feasible in the Region of Murcia without the hew airport, which will be just 15 minutes' drive away. The airport could provide as many as three million visitors a year, and Proyectos Emblemáticos is counting on those visitors. Apparently, the first thing that Paramount representatives and consultants do when they visit the Region is take a look at the new airport. Sr Valcarcel's administration believes that San Javier is too small to cater for so many visitors, although sources at AENA disagree, saying that San Javier could carry three million passengers a year.
Last month experts from a consultancy firm specializing in theme parks came to the Region of Murcia to assess the viability of the project. The company has been commissioned by Paramount's management team to compile the final studies for the development.
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