Owners of Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal will lease out a landmark building shaped like a drop of water to high-end restaurants.

The dock, which featuring a 28-meter landmark building on the north part of the Bund, has undergone a US$260 million renovation to better serve international cruise ship passengers.

The passenger center opened for a trial operation early last month.

Managers of the cruise terminal said they had decided to rent out the three floors above the ground, which comprise 4,000 square meters, as luxury restaurants that offer an impressive riverside view on the Bund.

"Inside the terminal building, diners can enjoy an open view of the Bund and the Huangpu River with Lujiazui area on the opposite side of the river," said Zhang Ji, an operation manager at the cruise terminal.

Zhang said leasing out the building was a way to increase operations incomes since the local level of port-service charges had been unreasonably low.

According to national transport rules, the local port charges a cruise ship US$2 for each tourist. In some ports overseas, the same tax can amount to US$50 a passenger.

After the improvement project, the port can now handle three large passenger liners of between 70,000 tons and 80,000 tons at the same time.

A flexible corridor serves as the gangway between the ships and the entrance to the passenger hall. Like those used for boarding aircraft, it shelters passengers from the weather.

The terminal complex will open next year, said Marketing Manager Huang Haidong.

The operators hope passenger turnover will grow from 120,000 people a year to 150,000. The port has been designed to cope with a turnover of 1 million tourists a year.

(Shanghai Daily September 1, 2008)