Novotown Hung-chien Phase 1 Launch in Second Half of the Year

The opening of the first phase of Novotown, a Hollywood film-themed amusement park in mainland China adjacent to Macau, will begin in the second half of this year.

Hong Kong-listed Lythun Development Limited, which represents the leading developer of the Hungchin Island project, Lythun Group, said in a filing on Tuesday.

"The Novotown Phase 1 construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019, with a phased opening in the second half of the year," said License Development.

A December press release representing the Hollywood-themed initiative Lionsgate Entertainment World noted it would be part of Novotown and said "first half of 2019" was the target opening date for the Lionsgate-based facility.

China's central government wants to see non-gaming tourist attractions thrive in the city. The Macau government sees such facilities as complementing Macau's casino-resort tourism sector and has said it wants to encourage two central holidays that take people to both. A proposal to develop the city into a tourist island was recently approved by the Chinese State Council.

Some non-game attractions, such as the Chimelong theme park, are already operating in Henchen, others are under development, including Lionsgate Entertainment World, and some are still in the planning or fundraising phase.

But last week, a Macau tourism official said Hung-chien would need to ease the visa process between Macau and Hung-chien to attract more foreign tourists. Foreigners' Hung-chien travel currently requires the same visa application process as when visiting other parts of mainland China.

In some early comments filed on Tuesday, License Development reiterated that the first phase of Novotown had a total floor area of 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters). It added that the total development cost for that phase was estimated to be just 5.45 billion yuan ($811 million).

BY: 무료슬롯사이트