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The world's largest cruise terminal opened in...

Dubai - the destination leading the way when it comes to building designs and on-land activities - has officially opened the world's largest cruise terminal.

Dubai – the destination leading the way when it comes to building designs and on-land activities – has officially opened the world’s largest cruise terminal.

Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal was inaugurated over the weekend by the Crown Prince of Dubai and the terminal’s namesake, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Built at Mina Rashid port alongside two existing terminals, the new gateway takes up over 28,000-square-metres.

Mina Rishad can now handle up to seven cruise vessels at one time, with the newest terminal capable of welcoming 14,000 cruise passengers in a single day.

Dubai Prince 2

The new terminal also boasts a 700,000-square-metre car park, which accommodates some 36 buses and 150 taxis.

Speaking at the launch, Emirati marine terminal operator, DP World’s chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said the new building will increase Dubai’s capacity handling from two million to around seven million a year.

“Our investment in expanding cruise handling capacity and building this facility at Mina Rashid aims to position the city as a leading tourist destination.”

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World chairman

The new terminal is also key to Dubai’s plans to increase cruise tourism to 450,000 by 2016.

It also supports a new cost effective multiple entry UAE visa, which allows travellers can fly into Dubai Airport before hopping onto a cruise and sail out to UAE destinations like Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain.

Click here for more information on the new visa system.

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