WORK on China’s first domestically built luxury cruise liner will start in Shanghai next week.

The 135,500-ton ship, the first of six cruise liners signed by China State Shipbuilding Corp, the US-based Carnival Corp and Italy’s Fincantieri, will be built at the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co.

The first piece of steel plate for the ship will be cut at the shipyard on October 18, Xu Xing, deputy chief engineer with the CSSC told the 2019 Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific, the region’s leading cruise industry event, yesterday.

The liner, 323.6 meters long and 37.2 meters wide, will be completed by 2023.

With a height of 72.2 meters, the 16-story cruise ship will have a variety of entertainment and recreational facilities. Among them will be a dining room, performance and amusement centers, and a shopping plaza.

A second ship will be delivered in December 2024.

The two ships will operate for a new Chinese cruise brand under CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by Fincantieri, CSSC and Carnival Corp in February 2017.