CALVIA LEADS THE FIELD IN BID FOR THEME PARK

By Humphrey Carter MAJORCA'S new theme park has taken a step closer to becoming reality with Calvia Council throwing its weight behind the project. The multi-national Theme Park Group (TPG) confirmed yesterday that it is considering three possible sites for the 200 million-euro project in Calvia and that the purchase of the final plot of land should be “wrapped up” by the end of this month. No precise information about the locations of the plots could be given, but they are in Santa Ponsa, Magalluf and Palmanova and all “non-rustic” plots of land. “Evolution Park” was unveiled in Palma last November, when Inca was the most popular location for the project. However, Inca is now out of the running and Calvia, which immediately welcomed the park idea, has publically backed the project. Calvia's Councillor for Tourism said after seeing the project and meeting the TPG directors, “it's an exciting project, there are elements we like and don't like, but as a tourist municipality, we have to take all projects seriously and this is very professional and very serious. “If the Balearic government and the Council of Majorca give it the go ahead, I would like to think it will be built in Calvia.” Also, the state-of-the-art project has been down-sized from its initial 885'000 square metres. However, the environmentally-friendly Evolution Park, will provide a range of educational and social benefits for the community of Calvia and it is the entertainment side of the park which has been reduced in size. Apart from the thousands of jobs the park will create in Calvia, the idea is to have the park, which will attract around two million visitors per annum, open 365 days of the year which will provide the local hotel and tourist sector with an all-year market to cater for. The TPG believes that the new Calvia project meets all of the Insular Council of Majorca's planning requirements and that work on the project will start this year. “We're very pleased we've finally got political support,” TPG's Dean Sinclair said yesterday.