Penang Port, Royal Caribbean sign JV to redevelop Swettenham Pier

Penang Port (PPSB) has yesterday entered a joint venture agreement with RCL Development Holdings (Penang), an indirect wholly owned-subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), to redevelop its cruise terminal to accommodate larger ships.

The two parties had previously signed a Heads of Agreement in March 2017.

From right: MMC Corporate Berhad Group’s Khalib Mohamad Noh; Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Gavin Smith; Penang Port’s Syed Mohamad Bin Syed Murtaza; Penang’s chief minister Chow Kon Yeow; Malaysia’s minister of transport Anthony Loke Siew Fook; MMC Port Holdings’ Ian James; and Malaysia’s secretary general of ministry of transport Saripuddin Bin Hj Kasim

In the redevelopment plans for Penang’s Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT), the existing 400m-long berth will be extended by 220m with an additional 118m-long dolphin.

With the current expansion plan, SPCT will be able to handle two mega-sized cruise ships simultaneously on the outer berths along with one small- and one-medium sized ships on the inner berths by end-2019. The expansion will enable RCL’s Oasis-class ships, the largest in the world, to berth at the terminal.

Sasedharan Vasudevan, PPSB’s CEO, said in a statement: “Detailed design and site investigations are already midway, with construction to begin before the end of 2018. The expansion will see a significant increase in international transit calls at Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal along with an increase in appeal for the homeport segment in Penang.

“With the state government’s full support in managing tourism activities,
logistics and transport staging around the terminal, we are confident in strong
future growth of the cruise industry in Penang.”

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