Arizona may be landlocked, but Gov. Doug Ducey and his counterpart south of the border have a plan to make Rocky Point “The Port of Arizona.”
Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich has ordered the delivery of a signed “memorandum of understanding” to Mexican federal officials Monday.
It will designate Puerto Penasco, or Rocky Point as we know it, the newest cruise ship port of entry.
The idea is not new, port construction was already 50 percent complete when work stopped. But, economic promises of new jobs and increased business convinced Ducey to climb on board and push progress forward.
"We think our geographic location to a port like Puerto Penasco just provides another tourism opportunity for people in our state," Ducey said.
Sonora’s tourism director Hector Platt Mazon claimed talks with Carnival Cruise Ships are reportedly underway. He also estimated 1.2 million Arizonans take cruises out of California each year and predicted another 5 to 6 million from surrounding states will travel through Arizona to get to Rocky Point.
Ducey said the plan still needs federal support to build wider roads and ease border entry from the coastal town to Arizona’s state line.