Construction of Visby's new cruise quay under way
Work started today on the cruise quay in Visby, which will be completed in spring 2018. Region Gotland and Copenhagen Malmö Port, CMP, will together contribute to developing cruise tourism in the Baltic in general and on Gotland in particular.
A new cruise quay will open up major opportunities for tourism on Gotland. Cruise traffic is growing rapidly throughout the world. The combination of comfort on board and constantly new destinations to explore is being appreciated by increasing numbers of people. Region Gotland and CMP want to share in this through having more cruise ships call in to Gotland.
"The fact that we have started work today on the cruise quay together with CMP and the contractor Aarsleff is an extremely important milestone, which feels incredibly exciting and gratifying. Together with the tourism industry and the business sector, we now have to ensure that all of Gotland is ready when the cruise quay opens in 2018", says Björn Jansson, Chair of the Regional Executive Committee, Region Gotland.
Region Gotland is building the cruise quay. CMP will be the tenant and also responsible for its operation. CMP will also help to sell Gotland as a destination.
"We have long experience of developing cruise ports and marketing destinations. Being able to offer our customers Visby as a cruise destination will make the cruise routes in the Baltic more attractive. We are anticipating 150 arrivals per year in the future. Naturally this is positive for us, but it also contributes to developing tourism on Gotland. We are really looking forward to it", says Johan Röstin, CEO of Copenhagen Malmö Port AB.
An important aspect is the environmental impact cruise operations have on the Baltic Sea.
"It is important for both us and CMP that the sustainability issues are kept in focus. The ships must be able to discharge their waste water into an equalizing basin, from where it is pumped onward to the sewage works. The sludge can then be used in biogas production here on Gotland. We will thus be contributing to relieving the Baltic of additional pollution", says Patric Ramberg, technical director and project owner, Region Gotland.
Two 340 metre long ships will be able to dock simultaneously at the cruise quay when it is completed. Including abutments, it will extend a total of 530 metres out into the sea. It will be possible to dock at Visby with an average wind of up to 14 metres per second. A terminal for passengers and crew of about 300 square metres is planned on the abutment. The main contractor is the Danish company Aarsleff A/S.
For further information, please contact:
Patric Ramberg, technical director and project owner, Region Gotland
Tel: +46 (0)498 26 93 61, e-mail: patric.ramberg@gotland.se
Johan Röstin, CEO Copenhagen Malmö Port AB,
Tel: +46 (0)40 680 41 00, e-mail: johan.rostin@cmport.com
Further information: gotland.se/kryssning
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