Major Front Street shops are being encouraged to open large stores in Dockyard in preparation for the arrival of mega cruise ships.

Construction is underway on a large dock capable of holding two mega ships at the historic naval town, which would bring with them approximately 8,000 people.

And the new general manager of West End Development Corporation (Wedco), Andrew Dias, has plans in place for Dockyard to become the new tourism hub of Bermuda.

"We are talking to shops to remodel existing buildings here and open stores," he said.

"We are looking to expand our retail sector to include major department stores.

"Our philosophy is that we want people to work, live and play here. We want to provide a place where you can shop, eat and walk around, for visitors and locals."

They are also looking for proposals to develop buildings in Victualling Yard, the Parsonage on Maria Hill and Malabar House.

Work on Casemates, the former prison closed in the 1990s, is also underway. Mr. Dias said Bermuda Maritime Museum executive director Edward Harris and his team have been busy clearing out invasive plants from the building which was built in the late 1840s as part of the Royal Naval Dockyard.

After that the building will be extensively photographed before Wedco will ask entrepreneurs to submit proposals for what the building could be used for.

He added that any construction or remodelling would not detract or ruin the historic look of the buildings and town.

And Wedco is also upgrading key infrastructure such as widening the Pender Road entrance to the town, creating a new sewage plant and increasing the number of public rest rooms to ensure the town is ready for the new mega cruise ships.

Starting next month. Works and Engineering will start widening the Pender Road to allow two lanes of traffic, create a new two-lane bridge at Cut Wharf and a ramp into Dockyard.

The current entrance, with historic gates, will be open only to pedestrians.

And Mr. Dias said Dockyard was already proving a hit with visitors. Restaurants such as the Frog and Onion have always been popular and Bone Fish, one of the newer restaurants, is expanding for the second time. Destination Dockyard, on Tuesday nights, has been popular with locals as well. And next summer the public will be able to use a small train, which will provide hassle free transportation around the town every 15 minutes throughout the day.

He predicted that with large cruise ships coming to Dockyard instead of Hamilton and St. George's there will be a shift in how places market themselves. "We are doing some really interesting things here," he said. "I look forward to doing more. As the changes happen people will have to embrace public transportation, we are only 15 minutes from Hamilton by ferry. We are only 30 minutes away from St. George's by ferry and we have already seen cruise visitors go there and stay there for the full day. I am sure the Corporation of Hamilton will miss the cruise ships but people will have to figure out the best way to attract visitors, something that shops and restaurants in Dockyard have had to do for the past years."