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PRIME Minister Tony Abbott today visited the $970 million Jewel development site at Surfers Paradise, signalling the significance of the project to the city.
Abbott's visit to the site, backed by one of China's largest property developers - Wanda Ridong (Gold Coast), comes just weeks after the two nations signed a Free Trade Agreement.
Wanda Ridong managing director, Weimin Xu, says the Prime Minister's visit was an indication of the significance of the Jewel project to the Queensland and Australian economies.
"We've said from the start that Jewel is a $1 billion vote of confidence in the Gold Coast, Queensland and Australian economies," Xu says.
"We were honoured to have the Australian Prime Minister come to our site and gain an insight into how the project will take shape over the next three years.
"Today's visit underlines the Australian Government's commitment to fostering stronger economic ties between Australian and China, and we look forward to an ongoing positive relationship."
When completed, the three-tower project will compromise 500 apartments and 171 hotel rooms complemented by a mix of retail tenancies.
Wanda Ridong, a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda which is headed by one of China's richest men, Wang Jianlin, has indicated it will be complete in the first half of 2018 and will start selling apartments off the plan from August this year.
Picture: Ridong Group director Baron Li (left), Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Wanda Ridong managing director Weimin Xu (right).
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