Rocky Point Cruise Port

Rocky Point, also known as Puerto Penasco, is slated to open in early 2017 as the first cruise ship homeport in Mexico. The Mexican government has earmarked roughly $100 million for the project, adding a cruise terminal and convention center to the town, which is located in the Gulf of California. About 200 miles south of Phoenix and Tucson, Rocky Point is an easy drive-to port for Arizona residents.

Allowing for cruises through the Sea of Cortez, this one-mile-long port is being constructed on 12 acres of land donated by a local resort owner. Improvements to existing hotels and roads in the beach town have been promised by the local government prior to the port’s opening, in addition to better access to the local airport for those flying in and out of the port.

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Jan. 24, 2017. According to current estimates, an investment of 1 billion pesos (approximately 50 million USD) is needed for completion of the Puerto Peñasco Home Port, detailed Sonora Tourism Promotion Director (COFETUR) Daniel Camacho Saldívar.

The COFETUR Director made these statements during a presentation on Tuesday, Jan. 24th, to Mexican Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid Cordero, Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich Arellano, Puerto Peñasco Mayor Kiko Munro, and other officials gathered at the Home Port construction project in Puerto Peñasco. He explained progress on the Home Port currently represents 55% on the breakwater jetty, with a 2% advance on the construction of the dock. He reported 491 million pesos have been invested in the project so far, meaning there are still over 1 billion pesos programmed for the overall investment.

The COFETUR Director detailed construction on the breakwater jetty has reached 720 of the planned 1,531 meters in length, representing about 55% progress, while there has been 2% progress on construction of the dock.

Camacho Saldívar emphasized Puerto Peñasco has tremendous potential for cruise ships to offer 3 to 5-day cruises along a regional route encompassing both parts of Baja California, Sinaloa, and Sonora. In the long term, this could lead to expanded routes to the center of the country, as well as up the coast to the United States.

Following the presentation, both Mexican Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid and Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich Arellano indicated available investments and short-term alternatives will need to be reviewed in seeing this important project through.

Rocky Point: Arizona joins call for cruise-ship port at Rocky Point	Select Show
Arizona joins call for cruise-ship port at Rocky Point The governors of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, on Friday, signed an agreement to promote Rocky Point, or Puerto Peñasco, on both sides of the border. Govs. Doug Ducey and Claudia Pavlovich hope the memorandum of understanding will pressure the Mexican government to provide the remaining funding for construction of a home port for cruise ships — a development touted as an economic boon for both states. “It’s going to be Arizona’s port,” Pavlovich said Friday during the Arizona-Mexico Commission Summit in Paradise Valley. “Puerto Peñasco is three hours away from Phoenix, and six or seven hours from Hermosillo … so it’s closer to Phoenix.” Construction of the port is at the midpoint. But the Mexican federal government has committed only half of the $60 million needed to build the facility, which will allow ships with a capacity of up to 3,000 passengers to dock in the Gulf of California, known in Mexico as the Sea of Cortez. Once it’s finished, the port is expected to provide a boost to the already booming tourism industry in Rocky Point. A majority of visitors there hail from the United States, mostly Arizona. “We think it’s a great opportunity,” Ducey said the port and memorandum. “It’s more to raise the profile and to let our citizens know that this opportunity exists. … We’re going to partner in the promotion.” The cruise ship industry is expected to generate thousands of jobs directly or indirectly in the state of Sonora. Pavlovich described it as a “win-win” that can also create economic opportunities north of the border. “There’s a great deal of certainty for cruise lines that supplies can come from Arizona,” she said. “We’re talking about flowers, tablecloths, everything that is generated in a large boat with over 3,000 passengers.” The Sonoran government said cruise ships likely will begin docking at Rocky Point in 2019.

Rocky Point: Arizona joins call for cruise-ship port at Rocky Point

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Rocky Point Cruise Port

Arizona joins call for cruise-ship port at Rocky Point

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