Walt Disney Company has agreed a formal deal with state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group to build its first mainland China theme park.

Shanghai Disneyland will be located in the city's Pudong district and is estimated to cost around US$3.6bn (€2.6bnn, £2.2bn) to build.

The park is scheduled to open in 2014 and will be the group's fourth outside the US.

The project's initial phase will include a Magic Kingdom-style theme park containing some elements tailored to the Shanghai region and others consistent with the offer in Disney's parks elsewhere in the world.

Disney received central government approval for its Project Application Report in November 2009 but talks to finalise the deal with the Shanghai city officials have been slow to proceed, partly due to Shanghai hosting the World Expo.

The six-month Expo closed to the public last week - on 31 October - after attracting 73 million visitors.

The Disney deal is the latest in a number of major investment projects in Shanghai and is part of the central government's aims to develop the city into a global financial centre by 2020

The city government has spent nearly US$50bn (€35bn, £31bn) on improving the city's infrastructure in recent years - including the construction of new airport terminals and roads.

Disney has worked closely with the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission on the park plans.