Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

The unfinished Ferretti Asia-Pacific Center in Zhuhai’s Hengqin New Area embraced a group of special guests from western countries on Aug 24.

Hengqin Ferretti Asia-Pacific Center 

Prominent visitors included Bernard D’ Alessandri, CEO of Yacht Club de Monaco, and Lerenzo Forcieri, president of the La Spezia Port Authority in Italy.

With an investment of 3 billion yuan ($451 million), construction commenced on Dec 16, 2015.

To encompass a Ferretti yacht sales and service center, ship-owners club, exhibition center, sailing school, and upscale dwellings, the project is being built into a large waterfront business complex featuring office and support leisure facilities. It will become one of the three global operation centers of Ferretti Group, the world’s largest luxury yacht manufacturer.

The facility overlooks the Zhuhai Convention & Exhibition Center, Zhuhai St Regis Hotel & Office Tower, and Macao Tower across the Maliuzhou Waterway. As construction progresses, a port capable of accommodating more than 100 yachts is taking shape.

Project covers more than 70,000 sq m [Photos by Zhong Fan / Zhuhai Daily]

The project has been running smoothly since its initiation last year, according to a spokesperson for the Ferretti Zhuhai branch. Basement construction is estimated to start in four months, when all the piling work has been completed. The center is expected to become operational in 2018, the spokesperson said.

After the on-site visit, D’ Alessandri expressed faith in cooperation with the center. He said that Zhuhai is a beautiful and clean city, with unique island and coastline resources suitable for development of yacht leisure tourism. The center in turn has an edge due to favorable location.

The Yacht Club de Monaco might expand farther to Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and the whole of China if it settles in Hengqin in the future, he added.