by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:18 PM ET, Fri September 20, 2019
MSC Cruises received approval Thursday from the Miami-Dade County Commission on a $300 million terminal development project at PortMiami.
According to TheRealDeal.com, MSC Cruises' legal representative William R. Bloom said the cruise line would pay Miami-Dade County a total of $2 billion during the 62-year operating lease. The current deal has no option to extend terms.
Bloom said he believes the MSC Cruises contract is the biggest lease deal in port history.
The approved plan from MSC Cruises is to build a two-terminal facility on a 16.7 plot of land that would feature both terminals in the same building. The construction would optimize the property and allow two cruise ships to operate simultaneously.
The cruise line intends to homeport four vessels in Miami to prepare them for the upcoming winter seasons, and officials say the number could grow in the coming years.
The Miami-Dade County Commission also approved Thursday Carnival Cruise Line's complete renovation and significant expansion plans for PortMiami's Cruise Terminal F to accommodate new Excel class mega-ships in the coming years.
In total, Miami-Dade officials approved 11 projects at the port for cruise lines Thursday, including Norwegian Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages.
"These PortMiami deals constitute the most extensive transactions done by our port simultaneously," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez told TheRealDeal.com. "These deals are expected to generate a total minimum revenue guarantee of approximately $4.6 billion in wharfage, dockage and capital recovery fees during the initial phase of the deals."
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