As the Chinese cruise industry grows so does the infrastructure supporting it.

When Fincantieri recently signed an agreement with Huarun Dadong Dockyard, it was for ship repair and conversion work aimed at serving the cruise ships based in China.

“Our agreement is for ships that are deployed and sailing from China and in this part of Asia,” Monica Polidori, in charge of strategic market analysis for Fincantieri, told Cruise Industry News.

“Previously, these ships had to go to Singapore for drydocking and that is quite a distance.” she said. “Now, all the work can be done in Shanghai. We saw this as a sound business opportunity.”

The China fleet forecasted to reach at least 36 ships by 2020, and Costa has already used the yard for routine drydocking.