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PortAventura invests €10 million in the expansion
of its water park Costa Caribe Aquatic Park
Update : 25/01/13 - 16h23Published by François Mayné the 23 January 2013, New.
PortAventura (Salou, Spain) just announced the expansion of its water park for an investment of 10 million euros (approx $7,5 million), confirming a project that was expected for some years now. This will be the major addition for the 2013 season.
Located next to the theme park, Costa Caribe Aquatic Park will profit from an expansion of 1.4 hectares (about 3.5 acres) with the addition of a new area for both thrill seekers and families, two targets that PortAventura has favored in recent seasons with the openings of the themed area SésamoAventura in 2011 and the hyper coaster Shambhala in 2012.
This is the Canadian manufacturer ProSlide Technology which was selected to supply all the new attractions. The main one will be a free fall waterslide (model Freefall™), the highest ever built in Europe (31 meters/101 feet). Guests will slide down at 55°at an average speed of about 6 meter/19,7 feet per second, making of this ride the most sensational experience of the park.
Two other waterslides will complement the area: a MultiBUMP™ - a 100 meters/328 feet long slide consisting of two steep descents - and a ProRACER™, a 6 lanes traditional mat racer slide.
Families will enjoy a children's pool divided into two levels deep (50 cm/19 inch and 30 cm/12 inch for the younger ones) whose main element will be a pirate boat themed with Sesame Street characters and featuring 4 mini-slides. There will also be a Splash Pad, a small play area with interactive fountains, where children will have fun safely. Finally, the area will be complemented by a large swimming pool with relaxing water jets.
“There are several things that will make this project special. The first one is its fantastic theming based on Caribbean," states Fernando Aldecoa, CEO of PortAventura Resort. "The decor, waterfalls and water effects and a wonderfull gardening with over 50 varieties of plants and palm trees will make visitors feel like they were in the tropic. It will be a place to have fun but also to relax and enjoy the gardens. And of course, its spectacular attractions will make it special too, specially thanks to the highest free fall slide in Europe!”
With this expansion, Costa Caribe Aquatic Park will now extend over a total area of 5 hectares/12,3 acres and offer visitors 16 water slides and attractions. A new snack bar will complete the catering offer on the site.
The amount of €10 million is part of the investment plan of € 75 million approved by the group Investindustrial after it acquired the shares of the bank CaixaBank at the end of 2012 (see our related articles below for more details). The latter's main goal is to make PortAventura Resort a world-class destination and attract more visitors from abroad.
“Our first goal is to keep on developing our resort and give new experiences to our visitors, specially the families. This target currently represent over 70% of visitors of the resort. This new park willl be also a key piece for the international development of the resort: water parks are highly demanded by customers, especially English and Russian.” concludes Fernando Aldecoa.
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