Hong Kong-listed Star Cruises, the world's third largest cruise line, hopes to build a giant terminal complex in Shanghai's North Bund area.

The project, which would be the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland, involves a total investment of over US$10 billion and would include a complex of hotels, shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities, said Yu Jianmeng, the company's chief executive officer for Chinese mainland business.

The North Bund coastal area, with a water depth of 8 metres, boasts good geographic conditions for the stopover of ocean liners, and the surrounding region is attractive to overseas tourists, said Yu.

The company is still negotiating with the government and no timetable for the project has been established, he added.

Wang Meihua, sales manager of Star Cruises' office in Shanghai, told China Daily "it is still not the time to announce the news," but revealed that company Chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay recently visited Shanghai to meet with local officials.

A senior official with the Urban Port Areas Integral Development Office under Shanghai Port Authority told China Daily the project is "very likely to be approved by the city government" and the investment will be "enormous." But he pointed to the lack of available land as the single greatest obstacle to realizing the plan.

"We (the government and Star Cruises) are still discussing the coverage of the project, but we have really limited land there," said the official, who requested anonymity.

He also revealed that Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng has given the go-ahead for the city's further development of the cruise ship business, and that Star Cruises is negotiating with the government for approval of a site near the North Bund area for construction of service facilities for cruise ships.

Ocean cruises are widely considered by local officials as another "lucrative tourism cake" along with Shanghai's Formula One race, which is scheduled for the second half of 2004.

More than 50 international cruise liners are expected to dock at Shanghai this year, said Shen Huixun, an official with the International Passenger Office of the Shanghai Port Authority.

"The passenger volume will bring the city's service sector a good income," said Yu, who estimates visitors will contribute at least US$200 million annually, even if each passenger stayed only one day in Shanghai.

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