Scott Carter, whodesigned the Disney sound stages in the US, has been chosen to designDreamworld, Cape Town's film studio complex.

"We went toHollywood and got the best man we could find," says Mike MacCarthy, oneof the directors of the DreamWorld consortium along with producer Anant Singhwho is chairman of the group.

Carter will beworking in tandem with local architects Stauch Vorster, who work in associationwith ACG Architects. "He will do the master design and the localarchitects, knowing the local conditions, will implement it," MacCarthytold South Africa's Business Day.

Last month Dreamworldwas chosen as the preferred bidder for a world-class studio in the WesternCape.

The cost of theproject is estimated at $68.5m-$76m (R450m- R500m). The provincial governmentand the City of Cape Town will contribute $9m over the next three years. Thefilm industry has in recent years become a site of many mid-budget runawayproductions especially films geared for the US cable market such as Pavement,Consequenceand HBO's Second Skin.

Phase one of theproject will include the construction of eight sound stages, a state-of-the artpost-production complex, music recording facilities, a production officecomplex, as well as an industrial park for set builders, costume makers, lightsuppliers, car hire companies and engineering workshops.

MacCarthy told Business Day thata back lot would also be built featuring cities that will include New York,Paris, Rome, London, Berlin and 18th Century Cape Town.