From The Times

'Disneyland' comes to Baghdad

with multi-million pound entertainment park

Llewellyn Werner admits he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers
never have to deal with – insurgent attacks and looting.
When you are building an amusement park in downtown Baghdad, those risks come
with the territory.
Mr Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private
equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo
and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that
will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. It is
being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland. “The people need this
kind of positive influence. It’s going to have a huge psychological impact,”
Mr Werner said.
The 50-acre (20 hectare) swath of land sits adjacent to the Green Zone and
encompasses Baghdad’s existing zoo, which was looted, left without power and
abandoned after the American-led invasion in 2003. Only 35 of 700 animals
survived – some starved, some were stolen and some were killed by Iraqis
fearing food shortages.
In the years that followed, the zoo and the surrounding al-Zawra park became
an occasional target for insurgent attacks. But in recent months, families
have begun to return cautiously for weekend picnics. Renovations have
already begun on the zoo, with cages being repainted and new animals
arriving, including ostriches, bears and a lion.
Mr Werner, who has been sold a 50-year lease on the site by the Mayor of
Baghdad for an undisclosed sum, says that the time is ripe for the amusement
park. “I think people will embrace it. They’ll see it as an opportunity for
their children regardless if they’re Shia or Sunni. They’ll say their kids
deserve a place to play and they’ll leave it alone.”
Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Government, is equally optimistic: “There
is a shortage of entertainment in the city. Cinemas can’t open. Playgrounds
can’t open. The fun park is badly needed for Baghdad. Children don’t have
any opportunities to enjoy their childhood.” Mr al-Dabbagh added that entry
to the park would be strictly controlled.
The project will cost $500 million (£250 million) and will be managed by
Iraqis. Under the terms of the lease, Mr Werner will retain exclusive rights
to housing and hotel developments, which he says will be both culturally
sensitive and enormously profitable. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t
making money,” he said. “I also have this wonderful sense that we’re doing
the right thing – we’re going to employ thousands of Iraqis. But mostly
everything here is for profit.”
A $1 million skateboard park, the first phase of the development, will open in
July. Parts for 200,000 skateboards and materials to build ramps will be
shipped from America to Iraq for assembly at state-owned factories and
distributed free to Iraqi children along with helmets and knee pads.
The larger entertainment park, designed by Ride and Show Engineering Inc, will
follow in phases, part of a strategy launched two years ago by the Iraqi
Government and the US to attract private investment into the country’s 192
state-owned factories.
The factories were closed in 2003 by Paul Bremer, then the head of the
Coalition Provisional Authority, who believed that private enterprise would
take their place. Instead, industries withered and half a million skilled
workers were left jobless.
A task force headed by Paul Brinkley, Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for
Business Transformation, is now attempting to revive Iraq’s factories – a
task undermined by persistent violence.
But Mr Werner, whose company manages several hundred million dollars of
equity, sees Iraq as a great opportunity. “Iraq to me is an open field. I
have never in my life seen an opportunity with the potential that Iraq has
with its skilled workforce and oil reserves.” He has begun partnerships with
several Iraqi factories in the last year, investing tens of millions of
dollars in joint ventures. But the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience
could prove the most ambitious. General David Petraeus, head of US forces,
is said to be a “big supporter” of the project, according to Mr Brinkley.
“There are all sorts of investment opportunities all over Iraq. But it’s not
just hydrocarbons. Half the Iraqi population is under the age of 15. These
kids really need something to do,” Mr Brinkley said.
City break
— Before the invasion there were two amusement parks in Baghdad, one in
Rusafaa and one in Karf. They now only open on public holidays
— Al-Zawra park and its zoo, (the site of the new park), are among the city’s
most popular attractions. There are fountains, sculptures, coffee shops and
children’s playgrounds
— The Cross Swords park, a favourite meeting place before the invasion, is now
locked inside the green zone
— On warm evenings, Iraqis flock to the city’s three lakes, al-Habanya,
al-Therthar and al-Razaza