OREANDA-NEWS. April 05, 2016. The  Costa Group today announced an order for two new ships to be built by Italian  shipbuilder Fincantieri. The ships, each with  135,500 gross tons and carrying 4,200 guests,  will be  delivered in 2019 and 2020. They  will be operated by Costa Asia, the Asian brand of the Costa Group, and specifically  designed for the Chinese market.

Costa Asia new ships are part of contracts  signed today by Carnival Corporation & plc with Fincantieri to build five  new ships by 2020 at the company's shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy,  finalizing a memorandum of agreement announced in 2015.

Costa Asia new ships  will be the 13th and 14th cruise ships built in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa,  with a total investment worth more than 6 billion euro. The projects are  expected to employ thousands of shipyards workers and employees of allied  industries in Italy.  The benefits in terms of employment will extend beyond the yards, especially regarding the  fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ships, with the involvement of contracted  suppliers, most of which are Italian firms.

"We are  happy to continue our long-standing strategic partnership with the Italian  shipbuilder Fincantieri. This new investment is expected to create wealth and  employment for the Italian country as a whole. As for Costa Diadema, the latest  Costa ship built by Fincantieri and the best expression of Italy's finest, also  Costa Asia ships will feature an innovative Italian style design. In addition  this new order will allow us to continue significantly build the Chinese cruise  market, which will become the second largest in the world at the end of the  decade" - said Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group.

Thanks to the new ships announced today, the  Costa Group has seven new ships on order with a total capacity of 41,000 berths  (three for the German brand Aida Cruises; two for the Italian brand Costa  Cruises; two for Costa Asia), bringing the total capacity of the fleet to 110,000 berths.

The Costa Group was the first cruise company to  enter the Chinese market back in 2006. Three Costa ships are currently deployed  in China and Asia year-round: Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria and Costa Serena.  A fourth ship, Costa Fortuna, will be added in late April 2016. Costa cruises  are marketed in China as "Italy at Sea", offering an authentic Italian and European  experience for Chinese guests, with high-quality hospitality, style, cuisine  and entertainment.