EC says OK to Costa-MSC-Louis consortium for Marseilles cruise terminal

The European Commission gave its go-ahead on February 9 to the launch of the Marseilles-Provence Cruise Terminal that will be jointly managed by a consortium comprising of Costa Crociere, MSC Crociere and Louis Cruises of Cyprus, that already account for 85% of port’s the cruise business.
The French ports authority, Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM), decided on April 4, 2008 to award to the consortium the 25-year management control of the Leon-Gourret pier, the cruise terminal of the Marseilles Port that is now to be renamed as “Marseilles-Provence Cruise Terminal”. Having gained the Commission’s agreement, the project is expected to begin soon becoming the first state and private collaboration in order to develop Marseille into a major Mediterranean cruise hub.
The three cruise operators will invest 8 mln euros and the port authorities an additional 4 mln so as to extend the port to the north and widen the quay in order to increase capacity. A new parking area will be constructed while the cruise passenger reception areas will be revamped.
According to a joint press statement, several hundred jobs will be created from this initiative, which aims to increase the number of annual passengers passing through Marseilles from 530,000 to 1 mln by 2011.
"The direct management of the Marseille cruise terminal will help us sustain the growth plan that we have defined for the next few years, guaranteeing further development of our activities in Marseille, our main French port and port of call for our ships since the 1980’s. Furthermore, this agreement is fully in line with our direct management policy for cruise terminals, a policy we were the first to develop in Europe, and that has already yielded extremely good results in Savona, Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Naples," said Gianni Onorato, President of Costa Crociere.
"Therefore, this year three of our ten ships, renovated or built at Saint-Nazaire, will drop anchor at Marseille: MSC Fantasia from March, MSC Splendida in July and MSC Lirica in September,” added Giacomo Costa Ardissone, President of the joint-venture and CFO of MSC Crociere.
“Marseille has been one of Europe’s most important ports since 600 BC when Ancient Greeks founded the old port of the city,” added Stelios Kiliaris – CEO Louis Cruises. “Being at the very heart of Europe and the Mediterranean, Marseille is an ideal cruise terminal for sailings to both Western and Eastern destinations. Its long and important history; its strategic location and above all the involvement of the main European cruise operators will undoubtedly lead to the establishment of Marseille’s cruise terminal as a major cruise hub.”