A new cruise-only terminal and port in Inchon’s Songdo International City district. (Yonhap)
INCHEON, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The construction of South Korea’s largest cruise terminal has been completed in Incheon, west of Seoul, officials said Tuesday.
The two-story terminal with a space of 7,364 square meters has a 430-meter-long berth that can accommodate the world’s largest 225,000-ton cruise ship.
Located in Incheon’s Songdo International City, the terminal will officially open in April next year, the officials said.
The capital area’s first large-scale cruise-only terminal and port capable of accommodating vessels carrying 5,000 to 6,000 tourists at one time is expected to overhaul the landscape of the domestic marine tourism market, they said.
At present, the southeastern city of Busan has a cruise terminal that can accommodate 220,000-ton ships, while terminals at the southern island of Jeju and Sokcho in northeastern Gangwon Province can handle smaller cruise ships.
The Incheon Port Authority (IPA), the operator of the new terminal, held a ceremony to celebrate its completion.
“The new cruise terminal will be a cornerstone for Incheon to become a marine tourism base in Northeast Asia. We’ll make all preparations for the terminal’s official opening next April,” Nam Bong-hyun, president of the IPA, said at the ceremony.
A gangway was also installed to connect the main deck of cruise ships directly to the terminal.
The IPA expects that about 22 cruise ships carrying 50,000 tourists will visit Incheon next year. This year, 10 cruise ships carrying 26,120 passengers visited the port of Incheon.
(Yonhap)
