A luxury ferry service between southern Pakistan's business hub Karachi and Dubai of United Arab Emirates has been approved and will take off on Nov. 2, the state- run APP news agency reported Thursday.

Among the five operators which have been awarded licences for the ferry service, Gulf Dream Cruise will be the first to operate its cruise in November and will run a weekly ferry service between Dubai and Karachi, said Anwar Shah, Director General of Pakistan Ports and Shipping, quoted by APP.

The initial fare for the Karachi-Dubai ferry service will be 549 U.S. dollars for a round trip, said the report.

Gulf Dream Cruise weighs 23,000 tonnes with a length of 196 meters. It has 540 rooms and can accommodate up to 1,250 passengers and will have a crew of 400.

The ship will take two days to travel from Karachi to Dubai, and will dock in Dubai for a day and then return to Karachi, APP said.

The cruise will have all the facilities available in an international cruise liner, with theater, games, entertainment facilities and restaurants, it said.

"This is a unique idea and there is a lot of potential as there is a big demand from foreign and Pakistani tourists who love to go on a cruise for a short distance and Dubai is the most wanted destination," Shah was quoted as saying.

It is said that the ferry service will give a boost to tourism between the two countries.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2006)