Universal Studios signs a deal with a Chinese state-owned consortium to build a Hollywood theme park in Beijing to open in 2019.
A signing ceremony for the joint venture took place at the New York headquarters of Comcast NBCUniversal, which owns Universal Studios Hollywood.
Universal Parks & Resorts, a Comcast unit, is partnering with Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment, a consortium of four state-owned companies, to invest in and operate the project.
China?s Cabinet and national economic planning agency approved the theme park project ? 13 years in the making ? in September last year.
It will be Universal?s third theme park in Asia, after Singapore and Osaka, Japan. The park, an entertainment complex and the first-ever Universal-branded hotel will occupy a 120-hectare site in the Tongzhou district in Beijing?s east.
A second phase would involve another theme park, a water park and a further five resort hotels, according to state media.
Universal has said the resort will eventually encompass 400 hectares.
Investment in the project is reportedly more than 50 billion yuan (US$8 billion), including the expansion of a subway line.