Zenon Consortium to transform Larnaca to cruise port in €1 bln deal

The massive development project to transform the port of Larnaca into the eastern Mediterranean’s leading cruise ship hub has taken a significant step forward with the Ministry of Communications and Works awarding the EUR 1 bln first phase contract to the Zenon Consortium, which includes the two leading cruise lines Costa and Louis.
Zenon beat off intense competition from two other international consortia to secure this DBFO (Design – Build –Finance – Operate) contract for the new cruise/tourism project, which will take Larnaca forward into a new era, managing and operating the new cruise facility for the next 35 years, according to cruise news specialist Off Radar.
Bidders reportedly included Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the second largest cruise company in the world, in a joint venture with D J Karapatakis & Sons Ltd. that planned to make Larnaca a Home Port as well as Port of Call. Another bidding venture included a partnership with Singapore Cruise Centre Pte Ltd.
It is unclear if RCCL, that includes Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Azamara Cruises, TUI cruises and Croisieres de France, as well as Island Cruises as a joint venture with First Choice Travel, will go ahead with plans to use Larnaca port as a hub.
As one of the world’s leading owner and operator of cruise ports RCCL may now opt to move its business to its own Mediterranean ports of Kusadasi (Turkey), Naples and Civitavecchia (Italy), with new projects underway in Dubrovnik, Istanbul, Koper, Ravena, La Spezia, Salerno, Malta, Barcelona and others.
Louis Cruise Line’s parent, Louis plc, has a 22% share in the Zenon Consortium, with Costa Cruises holding 10%. Other partners in the venture include French construction company Bouygues Batiments International, Holland’s Amsterdam Logistics Group BV and Lievense Consulting Engineering, and the Cypriot companies Iacovou Brothers (construction and cement), Petrolina Holdings Public (fuel oil), Marinaman (marina specialist) and The General Construction Co. (civil construction). Lievense Consulting Engineering will prepare a port master plan for the new cruise facility, marina and Superyacht port.
Coupled with the construction of a new airport just 10 minutes away that will completed in November 2009, the cruise port project will firmly place Larnaca at the forefront of cruise tourism.
Running in parallel with the cruise port project is the building of a new marina and Superyacht facility, five start hotels, leisure and retail development, all linked via a promenade to ‘down town’ Larnaca and its beaches. Construction work is expected to start at the end of 2009 and the ambitious project is expected to be completed by 2016.
Phase One of the project, the new cruise port and marina, is costing one billion euros. However, the final bill for all areas is expected to be around EUR 3 bln.
Although the cruise port contract has been awarded, details of the Zenon Consortium’s plans for the development have yet to be made public.