It’s a long game that’s starting up again. A saga of twists and turns to finally give a new future to the 100-hectare site abandoned overnight by the American giant Caterpillar in Gosselies in September 2016. After the announcement – with much fanfare – of the arrival of Thunder Power, the Chinese manufacturer of electric cars, which was quickly aborted, we were doubly cautious about the outcome of the operation called “Labrique”, which was launched three years ago.
However, barring a reversal of fortune or galloping inflation that would further skyrocket the price of construction of the infrastructure – already revised from 300 to around 400 million euros – Carolo Legoland should finally open its doors in the spring of 2027. This was announced on Tuesday by the various managers of the Merlin group, shareholder of Legoland, who came to Belgium at the end of August to finalise the financial agreement with the Walloon government and the Belgian local authorities, which, from 2025, will launch the construction of this new amusement park. It promises to employ nearly 1,500 people (directly and indirectly) at its opening. For their part, local public officials have committed to contributing some 100 million euros to the investment.
