It is surprising that Guangdong, one of the most prosperous regions of China, is not included in he country's cruise pilot project (see More News for details), Alan Lam reports
The province is planning to build a major cruise port; the Nansha International Cruise Home Port project will start at the end of this year. This RMB17 billion project is divided into two phases: the first phase will include two berths - one for accommodating 225,000 gt and one for 100,000 gt ships. A third berth will be constructed during the second phase. When completed, the facility will be able to handle 700,000 passengers a year
It is however not surprising that a great deal of emphasis has been placed on Tianjin, the nearest port to Beijing. The increased presence of Costa Victoria, Celebrity Millennium, The World, Sapphire Princess and the Chinese domestic cruise ship Henna have all contributed to the port’s rapidly growing cruise traffic.
Second only to Shanghai as a cruise homeport in China, Tianjin has just completed the second phase of its cruise homeport project.It can now simultaneously accommodate three large-size and four middle-sizecruise ships.
The rise of Tianjin has captured the attention of RCCL, which is moving its Asia Pacific Crew Training Centre from Manila to Tianjin. The company set up a staff training centre at Tianjin Maritime College in August this year, the first international cruise training centre in China.
