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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: U.S. businessman aims to bring 'badly needed' fun to Baghdad - Disneyland coming to Baghdad U.S. businessman aims to bring 'badly needed' fun to Baghdad SONIA VERMA From Wednesday's Globe and Mail April 23, 2008 at 4:31 AM EDT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Llewellyn Werner acknowledges he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with. Such as mortar attacks, stray gunfire and random looting. But when you're building your amusement park in downtown Baghdad, those risks come with the territory. The California businessman is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive U.S.-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum. "The people of Iraq need this kind of positive influence. It's going to have a huge psychological impact," said Mr. Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles based holding company for private-equity firms. The mayor of Baghdad has granted Mr. Werner a 50-year lease on a development property for an undisclosed sum. The 20-hectare swath of land, which sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses the Baghdad Zoo, was looted, left without power and largely abandoned after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. In the years that followed, it became an occasional target for insurgent attacks. However, in recent months, Iraqi families have begun to return to the area 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 says the time is ripe for a fun 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 Iraqi 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," he said, adding that entry to the park would be strictly controlled through tight security. The project, wholly financed by Mr. Werner, will cost half a billion dollars to develop 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 skateboard park, the first phase of the development, will be unveiled in July. The project is meant to lure "the demographic of ... kids standing idly by on corners, who are susceptible to influence from the bad guys," he says. Parts for 200,000 skateboards and materials to build ramps will be shipped from the United States to Iraq for assembly at state-owned factories, and provided free to Iraqi children along with helmets and knee pads. Mr. Werner also plans to import American instructors to teach Iraqi children how to skateboard. When the sport catches on, Mr. Werner will start to sell the boards, which bear the slogan "Ride Baghdad Skate Park" in hot-pink Arabic. The larger entertainment park, designed by Ride and Show Engineering Inc., will follow in phases, part of a broader strategy launched two years ago by the Iraqi government and its U.S. partner to attract private investment to the country's 192 state-owned factories. The factories were closed in 2003 by Paul Bremer, then head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, who mistakenly believed private enterprise would take their place. Instead, industry withered and half a million skilled workers were left jobless. A task force headed by Paul Brinkley, the U.S. deputy undersecretary of defence for business transformation, is now attempting to revive Iraq's factories. However, his success has been undermined by persistent violence. But Mr. Werner, whose company manages several hundred million dollars worth of equity, saw Iraq as a gold mine. He has partnered with several Iraqi factories in the past 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, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, 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," he said. Special to The Globe and Mail
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