Carnival Corporation and Baez & Rannik shipping agency have announced the start of construction of the Puerto Plata Tourism Port in Maimon Bay, Puerto Plata. The private sector will be investing US$65 million in the project. The promoters hope that 250,000 cruise ship passengers will visit Puerto Plata in the first year of operation. Speaking at the start of construction, the president of the Puerto Plata Pro Port Committee, Jose Polanco said that the authorities needed to remember their role in training the employees who will service these tourists upon arrival and departure. He urged the authorities to complete the dredging and port preparation works and the expansion of the two-lane Puerto Plata-Navarrete highway to four lanes, a new regional hospital and the elimination of the open-air garbage dump in the city.