Authorities in Shanghai have started preparing a site for the proposed Disneyland, the second in China after Hong Kong, the Xinhua-run China Securities Journal said Wednesday.

The government of Chuansha town in the Pudong New District, where the Disney theme park is planned, had set up a special office for the relocation of residents on the site.

The Shanghai Disneyland was expected to open in 2010, when the city hosts the World Expo, the report said.

The first phase would occupy an area of 4.25 square km, expanding to eight to 10 square km in the second phase.

Shanghai, China's economic and financial center, is keen to have a Disneyland to ward off domestic competitors and add to its appeal as an international metropolis.

Though Shanghai lost out to Hong Kong in competing for the first park in China, it kept up its campaign to woo Disney.

Robert Iger, Disney's chief executive officer, was reported as saying in March that the Shanghai Disneyland would be 3.7 times larger than its Hong Kong counterpart and would cost 30 billion yuan (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) to build.

On March 15, a spokesperson for the municipal government confirmed that the city had proposed the park to the central government.

Disney chairman George Mitchell was quoted in June as saying Shanghai was awaiting approval of its proposal so the park could be completed before the World Expo.

Disney opened its Hong Kong park in September 2005. It is expected to create 18,400 jobs and boost the island's gross domestic product by six percent.

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