Royal Caribbean presented a plan to Uruguay authorities of an exclusive terminal for their ships at the port of Montevideo, which would include a hotel and would involve a total investment of 40 million dollars.
El Pais reports that the Administration National Port Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Tourism are studying the tourism investment project presented by Royal Caribbean to define an area exclusively for the cruise ship docking at the port of Montevideo and to build a hotel on an adjoining block.
Royal Caribbean looked at investing in Uruguay eight years ago when it considered building a cruise terminal in South America. After considering their options, Royal Caribbean opted to go to ports in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires due to costs.
The site of the proposed cruise terminal is an area currently used for shipping, the public moorings A and B of the port of Montevideo, which operates the ANP.
Pacheco said that "initially build a lightweight terminal that also include the actual building of the Ministry of Tourism, which will have to relocate elsewhere, as suggested by the authorities," adding that Royal Caribbean would seek access to a block adjacent to the building the PA to build a hotel on four floors with 200 rooms.
"The idea is to make a base port to embark and disembark passengers from different countries of the company," he said, adding that the shipping company also plans to build in that area a place to set up shopping malls and cultural centers. Similarly, although not official, Royal Caribbean would be interested in a larger project in Punta del Este .
