Cruise giant Carnival Corporation has broken ground on a new $65 million facility in the Dominican Republic.

Amber Cove Cruise Centre is scheduled to open on the Bay of Maimon, near Puerto Plata in 2014. 

The project is designed to reinvigorate the north coast of the island as a popular cruise destination, with the last ship having called over 25 years ago.

In a statement following the groundbreaking ceremony Dominican Republic president Leonel Fernandez Reyna said: “With this cruise terminal, tourism and economic activity in Puerto Plata and the north region will rise to occupy a pre-eminent regional position in the entire Caribbean.”

The new facility will accommodate up to 8,000 cruise passengers and 2,000 crew members daily.

It is expected to host more than 250,000 cruise passengers in its first year of operation.

The two-berth cruise centre is a joint project between Carnival and the Rannik family of Grupo B&R.