MSC Cruises has announced that together with the Kwazulu Cruise Terminal (KCT) it has broken ground on the construction of the new Durban Cruise Terminal in South Africa which is expected to be operational from January 2021.

Ross Volk, managing director of MSC Cruises South Africa and director of KCT, said; ”The multi-user terminal will make Durban an even more desirable destination for cruise ships from all over the world, which will substantially boost tourism numbers, create jobs and lead to supplier development.”

The growth in cruising’s popularity in South Africa has led to MSC’s decision to deploy two ships to South Africa for the winter 2020-2021 cruise season with the MSC Opera to be homeported in Cape Town and the Musica in Durban.

MSC Cruises’ commitment to the country was recently recognized at the South African Investment Conference, where the company said it received a special acknowledgement from the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa for its investment in the local tourism infrastructure.

MSC Group has also invested in South Africa’s skills development with the opening of its Shosholoza Ocean Academy, in partnership with the national government’s Department of Trade and Industry.

The academy will provide free three-month training courses for young South Africans with those who successfully complete the training course becoming eligible for employment onboard MSC Cruises’ ships around the world.

Photo: Ross Volk, managing director of MSC Cruises South Africa and director of the Kwazulu Cruise Terminal, center