Disney plans theme park in Delhi

Walt Disney has identified India, a nation of one bn people with a growing middle class estimated at more than 200 mn, as a potential growth market.

DelhiWalt Disney Co. has approached the Government for land to build a theme park near the national capital, an official said on Sunday, in a move to tap a potentially huge market.

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"Disney has asked us for land for a theme park," an official of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said.

"We are looking into it," the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

Disney's Chief Executive Michael Eisner and successor-designate Robert Iger were in India last week and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Eisner and Iger also met President Abdul Kalam and some business leaders during their stay in the capital, the agency said.

Walt Disney has identified India, a nation of one billion people with a growing middle class estimated at more than 200 million people, as a potential growth market, it added.

The US entertainment giant is represented on Indian television by the Disney channel and Toon Disney, both launched in December 2004.

Disney is also hoping to tap the Chinese market with the opening on September 12 of the Hong Kong Disneyland, the first in China.