Cienfuegos, September 24 (PL-RHC) –- A project for the construction of a modern cruise ship terminal is underway for the Cuban port of Cienfuegos, the country's second largest in terms of the volume of operations. José Enrique Gonzalez, Chief of the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) in the territory, said that the investment will be under the charge of the Ministry of Transport.

"We are thinking big, we are talking about a worldwide project," stressed González when he showed the sketches of the ambitious project. A proof of the revival of the cruise industry in the MINTUR portfolio of services in Cienfuegos, 250 kilometers southeast of Havana, is the plan for next season arrivals, when 53 floating hotels will touch the waters of the so-called Pearl of the South.

Of that number, 37 will dock at port facilities surrounding the historic center, a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the location of the future terminal. The remaining 16 are expected to operate in open waters of the Caribbean Sea near the Hotel Faro Luna, on Rancho Luna beach.

Last season, coinciding with the winter season, the number of stops in Cuban ports managed by the Ministry of Transport totaled about 125, out of which 28 landed at the Olympia Medina pier, in Cienfuegos bay.