Singapore’s new international cruise terminal has been completed and is ready to commence operations under the new name, the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS).
S Iswaran, Singapore’s Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, announced the name of the 28,000² cruise centre after a site inspection of the completed terminal today (22 May).
“The Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore is a key infrastructure piece of our tourism landscape. Singapore’s cruise passenger arrivals have been rising steadily at an annual compounded growth rate of 3.6% over the last 10 years, reaching about one million passengers in 2011. With MBCCS, more cruise ships will be able to homeport and call on Singapore and Asia. We look forward to welcoming more and bigger cruise ships. Singapore will continue to work with regional governments to develop new cruising itineraries and attract more cruise lines to deploy to this region,” the minister said.
The MBCCS will be able to handle 6,800 passengers at any one time, effectively doubling Singapore’s current berth capacity and allowing the city to cater to the world’s largest cruise ships.
A range of major cruise ships are now planning to homeport in Singapore this winter, including the 2,038-passenger Celebrity Millennium and the 1,928-passenger Costa Victoria. This year alone, Singapore expects nine maiden calls, which is almost double the number of new sailings recorded in 2011.
The official opening ceremony of MBCCS is slated for late 2012.
