Jan. 12 – Days after Walt Disney Co. denied news that it has agreed to build the mainland’s first Disneyland in Shanghai, the China Economic Review reports that negotiations for the park have been completed and the proposal will be submitted to the central government for approval.

“Discussions have been ongoing about the feasibility of a theme park project in China,” said Leslie Goodman, a spokeswoman for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts told the LATimes. “We worked on a joint application report with the Shanghai government which will be submitted to the central government for review.”

Sources involved in the negotiations told South China Morning Post that the National Development and Reform Commission had given their informal approval of the project.

Plans to build the Chinese mainland’s first Disneyland has taken decades of hard negotiations. The global credit crisis has been cited as one of reasons that helped push the project forward. Shanghai government officials have touted the project as a way to boost the city’s economy.

Disney will have a 43 percent stake in the park while the rest will be taken by the municipal joint venture holding company. According to previous reports, Beijing would provide the land in exchange for a stake and Disney would manage the park.

Building the park will cost an estimated US$3.59 billion for the first phase and could be eight times larger than Disneyland Hong Kong. The park is expected to be operational by 2014, four years after 2010′s World Expo.