Work has officially begun on a second passenger terminal to double the capacity of the Savona Palacrociere.

The finishing touches have been made to the design, and on June 1st 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 May 24th 2012, with the contractor announced as a consortium led by Project Managers PDR Bianchi De Rege of Genoa and Aza Aghito Zambonini 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 3,500m2.

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 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.