Royal Caribbean Cruises and PPSB (Penang Port Sdn Bhd) signed a joint venture to redevelop Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal with intention of allowing the cruise terminal to accommodate larger ships.
The cruise ship terminal work is due to result in the existing 400-metre berth of Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal extended by 220 metres and the addition of a 118-metre long dolphin.
When work is done, the terminal will be able to accommodate 2 mega-sized cruise vessels simultaneously on the outer berths together with one small and one medium-sized vessels on the inner berths by the end of 2019.
The agreement was signed by PPSB Chairman Datuk Syed Mohmad Syed Murtaza and RCL Senior Vice President of International Gavin Smith.
Following the signing ceremony, Smith said that in 2019 they would bring in the 5,622-guests Spectrum of the Seas, their largest ship to be deployed to Asia. With Spectrum, Quantum and two others, Royal Caribbean Cruises will make 36 visits to Penang in 2019, bringing in nearly 129,000 passengers.