Executives of Hong Kong Disneyland, the latest theme park of Walt Disney, yesterday said that the construction timetable was on target.

The latest aerial Hong Kong Disneyland site is showen in this handout photo taken in August 2003. Hong Kong Disneyland is set to open by 2006 on a reclaimed area on the outlying Lantau island. The resort project will include two hotels, shops and restaurants and will be connected to downtown Hong Kong and the nearby airport by rail and highway. [AP]

"The park is proceeding within the budget and on schedule," John Verity, project vice president for Hong Kong Disneyland, told a news conference.

The HK$14.1 billion (US$1.8 billion) park is a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and Walt Disney. The government holds a 57 per cent share in the project with a total investment, including equity, loans and infrastructure expenditure, of HK$22.45 billion (US$2.88 billion).

The government claimed that the park "will produce substantial long-term economic returns" to the territory and was "a key strategic infrastructure component of a renewed and reinvigorated push to strengthen and consolidate Hong Kong's position as a must-see tourism destination".

Since the beginning of September, residents from Beijing, Shanghai and eight cities in Guangdong Province have been allowed to visit Hong Kong in an individual capacity.

While Don Robinson, Disney group managing director, expressed optimism that the influx of mainland tourists following the relaxation of controls would boost visitor numbers for Hong Kong Disneyland, the company remained cautious about adjusting its forecast on the total of visitors. The firm said it would not revise the projected ratio of mainland tourists to the total number of visitors. Roy Tan Hardy, vice-president of marketing and sales, commented: "The park will only open after two years; it is far too early to revise our projections."

However, Robinson said that the firm was excited about the latest development on the tourism front and added that "relaxation on mainland visitors to Hong Kong would benefit Hong Kong Disneyland quite a bit."

The firm had earlier projected that, in the first year of the park's operation, 33 to 35 per cent of total visitors would be from the mainland, 30 per cent locals, and the rest from within the Asia Pacific.

Hardy said the firm would focus its marketing campaign on attracting tourists from southern China.

"Our key target focus is on the southern China area. The southern China region, within a 300-mile radius of Hong Kong, has a population base of 140 million," Hardy said. "These people are growing in affluence and are becoming more mature travellers."

Hardy said the firm would launch a marketing campaign early-to-mid next year with a focus on the family market. The firm said it would also work with the Hong Kong Tourism Board to make sure that the park was a great destination for families to visit.

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