Work has officially began on a second passenger terminal to double the capacity of the Savona Palacrociere. The finishing touches have been made to the design, and on 1 June 2012, the Savona Port Authority gave Costa Cruises permission to build the new facility, in an investment worth around €9 million.

The tender process for the project was completed on 24 May 2012, with the contractor announced as a consortium led by Project Managers PDR Bianchi De Rege S.p.A. of Genoa and Aza Aghito Zambonini S.p.A. of Fiorenzuola.

The building site will operate for about 15 months, with a new satellite terminal expected to open its doors for business at the beginning of September 2013, in time for the peak cruise season in Savona. For safety reasons, the worksite will be fenced off from the existing cruise terminal. The tensile structure currently used when three cruise ships are in port at the same time will be moved to a location opposite the third quay. This structure is used regularly, as three Costa Cruises ships will be docking on the same day forty times in the next few months.

The second terminal will cover a total area of 3500m2. It will be a fully-functioning satellite terminal, connected to the existing Palacrociere, so that it can use its services, but will also able to operate as a free-standing facility with its own waiting, transit and baggage handling areas. There will also be separate policing by the various authorities (police, Guardia di Finanza and customs).

The professional firms behind the design of the new facility are all Ligurian:  Studio Vicini Architetti (architects Luigi Vicini and Andrea Piazza), who also contributed to the designs of the original Palacrociere and the Barcelona Palacruceros; Studio Tecnico Ingg. Montaldo e Canale; and C.V.D. Progetti Srl.

The presence of Costa’s ships has an important economic impact on the region. According to a study conducted by MIP, the Milan Polytechnic Business School, Costa Cruises generated more than €5.5 million of direct economic impact in the Port of Savona in 2010 and almost €230 million in Liguria as a whole, the latter figure largely accounted for by work carried out on the ships in the fleet.

The purpose-built Palacrociere opened at the end of 2003 and is run directly by Costa Cruises.  Conceived by the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill, it was specially designed to provide hospitality for cruise guests, guaranteeing them high quality services. Thanks to its innovative design, the terminal is able to reduce waiting time to a minimum, while combining the utmost comfort with maximum security. RINA (Italian Shipping Register) awarded the Savona Palacrociere with the B.E.S.T. 4 (Business Excellence Sustainable Task), which is an integrated voluntary scheme certifying corporate compliance with the highest international standards in the areas of social accountability, environment, safety and quality.