Contrary to recent coverage in the press indicating that the location for Paramount's new theme park was not necessarily going to be in the region of Murcia, Viacom has announced that the project will be officially presented this week in Madrid.Contrary to recent coverage in the press indicating that the location for Paramount's new theme park was not necessarily going to be in the region of Murcia, Viacom has announced that the project will be officially presented this week in Madrid. According to Mike Bartok, Executive Vice President for Licensing at Paramount Pictures, the project to build Paramount's first theme park in Europe, 'Paramount Park and Lifestyle Centre', will be located in Alhama de Murcia. The building of the largest theme park in Spain and the second largest in Europe is scheduled to begin by March 2012 and it is expected to be open to the public at some point in 2015.
This mammoth project is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and will no doubt bring welcome relief to Murcia's strained economy. The impact of this project is already being felt in the housing market with several estate agents reporting more interest and indeed sales for properties within travelling distance of the park. Americans, Portuguese and Russians are leading the way with the purchasing of properties as investments for future rental income. According to a recent report from the National Institute of Statistics, Spanish nationals who are in a position to purchase a second or third property are still waiting to see if property prices drop any further before buying. If the predictions of more than 3 million visitors per year are correct then this will indeed be a positive for the local economy, driving growth and stimulating employment, according to the region's president Ramon Luis Valcárcel.