Launching tourism and rockets

June 2010 — AECOM is assisting with the realization of the first theme park attraction to be planned and constructed in conjunction with an operating space launch center in China. Park visitors will be able to tour the working facility and 8-10 times a year have the opportunity to watch an actual rocket launch from a nearby viewing area.

China Aerospace (CASIL), the equivalent of NASA in the U.S., conceived of a theme park destination as a component of the Hainan Space Launch Center, a working satellite launch site currently under planning in Wenchang City, Hainan Island, China. The center will also consist of a space launch port, a rocket assembling plant, a rocket launch base, and the command center. Surrounded by coconut forests, Wenchang City is 60 kilometers from the Hainan provincial capital of Haikou.

Over the past year, AECOM economists in Hong Kong and Los Angeles have been working as part of an international team for the planning and design of the Hainan Aerospace Theme Park and the entire Launch Complex zone. AECOM performed a detailed market and financial feasibility study. Other team members included BRC Imagination Arts on the conceptual theme park masterplan, Woods Bagot on the overall masterplan and CBRE on related commercial real estate.

The park and launch center are part of a State initiative to develop a comprehensive island leisure resort for Hainan by 2020 as a key cultural attraction and tourism development. Among China's four space launch sites, Hainan is closest the equator, enabling China to take part in more international commercial space launches, including synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations and deep space probe satellites.

The Hainan Aerospace Theme Park is intended to be a fun-filled adventure park for guests of all ages, appealing to Hainan residents and domestic Chinese tourists as well as international visitors. The park will open upon the Space Launch Center's completion, projected for 2013.

Christian Aaen