The shopping centre company, Intu, which owns or part-owns eighteen shopping centres in the UK, such as Lakeside in Essex and Manchester's Arndale, has plans for a theme park and leisure centre in Palma. Under the name Port Mayurqa, the plans were unveiled today. The directors say that the project has been presented to political authorities, business associations and unions and has been met with support.
In addition to shops and restaurants, the centre would have activities such as an ice-rink, a surf area, skating and even skiing. The hope is that it would be attractive for tourism, especially in the winter months. Investment would be in the region of 500 million euros and 3,000 jobs would be created. This would be "stable" employment, says Ian Sandford, head of Intu in Spain.
The company already has a similar centre in Zaragoza: Puerto Venecia covers 200,000 square metres. The Palma project would be slightly smaller at 180,000 square metres, and negotiations are currently under way in order to find a suitable location. The most likely one at present would be next to the Estadio Balear.
The company is aware there is at present a moratorium on building new shopping centres, but this isn't of concern. "Our projects are for the long term, and we are patient."