Melaka Int'l Cruise Terminal To Be Completed Next Year

MELAKA (Malaysia), June 24 (Bernama) -- The construction of the Melaka International Cruise Terminal, part of the Melaka Gateway project, will kick off in three months and is expected for completion in 2017. Melaka Transport, Project Rehabilitation and International Trade committee chairman, Lim Ban Hong, said the terminal would be able to accommodate four large cruise ships simultaneously. "We are targeting 250 cruise ships to dock at the terminal per year by 2020 and bring in a strong economic impact to the state," he told reporters here Thursday. He said this after a visit to the terminal construction site with KAJ Development Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Ong and Luis Ajamil from project consultant, The Royal Carribean. The US$9.87 billion (RM40 billion) Melaka Gateway, near Pulau Melaka, is developed by KAJ Development and is the largest man-made island project in Southeast Asia. Among the planned facilities are a marina for yachts, luxury condominiums, bungalows with private marina, tourist eco-parks, theme parks and ports for cruise ships. "Most tourists travel by land, but with the Melaka Gateway, we will be able to attract more tourists via the sea. This is part of the state's Transport Development Master Plan," Lim said. Meanwhile, Ajamil said Melaka Gateway is third entity that the Royal Caribbean had collaborated with for jetty construction and development project after Miami and New York in the United States. "Normally, research on waves, ocean depth, soil conditions and waves flows takes four years but Melaka Gateway only took about two years from 2014," he said. -- BERNAMA