Carnival Corporation has officially begun construction of its first terminal in Japan, located at the port of Sasebo.

Building was launched with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by government, business and community representatives.

In attendance for Carnival Corporation were Remco Buis, senior vice president port operations and development, and Paul Chong, vice president of business development for Carnival Asia, as well as representatives from the Japanese ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism and the city of Sasebo.

As part of a strategic partnership agreement signed in March last year with the city of Sasebo and MLIT Japan, Carnival Corporation will construct and operate the new terminal, expected to open in summer 2020.

The partners in the Sasebo development project are working together on an efficient, contemporary design for the terminal to accommodate the corporation’s existing and newest ships.

Under the 20-year agreement, Carnival Corporation and its cruise line brands will be granted berthing preference, enabling them to provide guests with optimised cruise itineraries when visiting the port.

“As the cruise industry’s first terminal in Japan, this ground-breaking is a historic day for all of us at Carnival Corporation and for our partners in this exciting project,” said Michael Thamm, group chief executive, Costa Group and Carnival Asia.

“This new terminal will complement our strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region and furthers our commitment to help facilitate the rising demand for cruise vacations in the region, enabling even more people from around the world to discover why Japan is such an extraordinary destination, one that many of our guests have long enjoyed.

“And as our company’s first cruise terminal investment in Japan, we are excited to mark the start of our long-term relationship.

“We are actively working on future investment opportunities to help further support growth and expand the Japanese cruise industry for years to come.”