Chen Gang, vice president of Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and leader of the project to construct China's fi rst cruise liner. PROVIDED TO China Daily

The construction of China’s first cruise ship will provide the country with not just another milestone to commemorate, but a stringent test that will help to improve all sectors of the domestic shipbuilding eco-system, according to Chen Gang, the project leader and vice president of Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.

Besides providing a stern challenge to sectors such as machinery, electronics, chemistry and automation, Chen said that the construction of the ship will also thoroughly test the shipbuilder in terms of resource integration, project management, design and construction, as well as safety and quality control.

Waigaoqiao, a company controlled by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), will commence construction of the $1 billion cruise ship in 2017. The vessel, which will be thrice the size of the Titanic, will be completed by 2021.

"Since this is the very first cruise ship made by China, all aspects of the project will surely be well planned, with only the best resources and talents being utilized," said Wu Zhenglian, a cruise design expert from a research institute under CSSC.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, new ship orders received by Chinese shipbuilders in 2015 slumped 47.9 percent from the previous year. In contrary, China’s cruise travel market is booming — the number of homeport cruise ship travelers in the country is projected to surge from 1.11 million in 2015 to 4.5 million by 2020.

Chen said that the decision to build a cruise liner forms part of the company’s strategy to diversify its business. Civil ships currently account for 75 percent of Waigaoqiao’s revenue while offshore support vessels make up 25 percent. The company is aiming to have 40 percent of its revenue generated by the construction of cruise liners by 2025.

Preparation work for the project had already begun as early as 2014. While the team currently has just 30 members, it will expand to around 500 as the project develops. A report by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding stated that at least 1 million man-hours are required to design the vessel.

In October 2015, a £2.6 billion ($3.88 billion) cooperative agreement was inked between CSSC, China Investment Corp, a Chinese sovereign wealth fund and Carnival Corp & plc. Under this agreement, a China-controlled joint venture in Hong Kong will be formed and given orders to build cruise ships.

"A joint venture is required because the construction of the ship is an extremely complicated matter. It would be difficult to construct the ship within the stipulated time frame without the expertise of other parties," said Chen.

Meanwhile, CSSC will create CSSC Cruise Technology Development Co Ltd. This company, which will be based in Shanghai, will be responsible for design, research and development, as well as the production of relevant facilities.

"The China-controlled joint venture in Hong Kong and CSSC Cruise Technology Development will be set up in the second quarter of this year. The Hong Kong entity will in the first half of 2017 place a formal order for the first ship with a contracting company," said Chen.

"This contracting company will be set up in the fourth quarter of this year by CSSC Cruise Technology Development and a foreign partner which boasts rich experience in cruise ship engineering and construction."

According to Chen, this Hong Kong-based contracting company will be responsible for design, supply chain and project management support for the ship.

Because of the strict deadline involved, any delays in construction would result in losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. In order to minimize the chances of delays, Chen said that the shipbuilder will need access to a global supply chain that has high quality components in stock, as well as a good network of domestic suppliers.

He also expects Waigaoqiao to procure between 60 and 80 percent of their materials from local companies in the next 10 to 15 years, adding that this represents a major opportunity for Chinese suppliers to gain from the country’s cruise industry.

Furthermore, Waigaoqiao has also established partnerships with colleges and vocational schools in an attempt to create a sustainable supply line of skilled workers.

"Another key to the success of building a cruise ship is craftsmanship. The construction of a cruise ship requires more than 3,000 skilled workers with solid professional education and technical knowledge," added Chen.

"Workers in the shipbuilding industry have a very specific set of skills. For example, a Japanese cruise construction company once had to invite foreign experts to perform the cleaning tasks because even jobs like that require special skills and experience."

wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn