As work got under way on Piraeus Port Authority’s (OLP) new cruise terminal on Tuesday, top officials of global cruise tourism giants Carnival and Royal Caribbean expressed confidence that it would reposition Greece’s main port at the center of the Mediterranean cruise market.

Carnival Corporation’s vice president for global port and destination development, Michel Nestour, revealed to Kathimerini newspaper that his group is already making plans for the further development of its homeporting activity in Piraeus based on the new infrastructure. Royal Caribbean’s commercial development director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Ana Karina Santini, said the same thing about Royal Caribbean.

The southern expansion of Piraeus’ passenger terminal will create two slots for the docking of new-generation cruise liners longer than 80 meters which are expected to be ready within 32 months. The project will lead to the growth of Piraeus’ capacity and therefore homeporting.

OLP Chairman Yu Zenggang said parent company “Cosco Shipping has a holistic plan for the development of the port of Piraeus, aiming to improve all activities.”

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.