An artist rendering of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co's No 2 yard for cruise ships in Haimen [Photo/ntjoy.com]

Construction of the No 2 yard for cruise ships of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co is progressing smoothly in Haimen, a county-level city in Nantong, thanks to the support of the local government, a company spokesperson said.

The shipyard uses PHA uplift piles to lay foundations. However, the production of such piles was suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak early this year, resulting in construction delays.

After learning about the situation, local government officials contacted the supplier and worked to help the company resume operations as soon as possible.

So far, construction progress at the shipyard has been significantly improved and it is expected to be completed by the end of June 2021.

The luxury cruise liner production center in Haimen, funded by China Merchants Industry Holdings, will cost 5 billion yuan ($724.5 million) to build. 

It will cover about 32 hectares and consist of a laser center, a laser laboratory, a shipyard and an assembly center and will be equipped with 50 sets of imported large equipment valued at $130 million.

The No 2 shipyard will improve the center's annual production capacity to 1.5 100,000-tonage medium-size luxury cruise ships and two polar cruise ships. The taxable sales revenue is estimated to reach 10 billion yuan.