"Larger than Disney's Magic Kingdom": Qatar's $5.5 bn mega-theme park

Qatar is embarking on a massive 20 billion riyal (USD 5.5 billion) tourism venture with the launch of the Simaisma project, set to transform the coastal landscape north of Doha into a sprawling leisure and residential complex. 

The development will feature a prominent amusement park as its centerpiece, as reported by Bloomberg.

Spanning an expansive 8 million square meters, Simaisma will stretch along 7km of beachfront, boasting amenities such as an 18-hole golf course, 300 villas, a marina, beach club, as well as commercial and residential properties. 

The amusement park itself is projected to cover an impressive 650,000 square meters, surpassing the footprint of Walt Disney Co.'s Magic Kingdom in Florida, which is 433,014 square meters.

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, is spearheading the project.

Ali Mohamed Al-Ali, the CEO of Qatari Diar, stated, "The anchor is the theme park and that phase will be coming first to attract more people to come and invest." 

This initiative aligns with Qatar's broader economic strategy to bolster tourism, aiming for a 12 percent increase in the GDP by 2030.