China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has expressed interest in building the country’s first self-developed luxury cruise ship.

According to CSSC Chairman, Hu Wenming, the group has been building up its know-how on construction, design and management of large cruise ships, stressing that the success of the first project of this type is of utmost importance.

Hu said that based on estimates by 2020 Chinese cruise travelers will make up around 50% of global cruise travelers, hence the importance of the country’s ability to develop indigenous capacity of constructing these ships.