Brisbane’s new cruise terminal set to open in 2 years!

Nobody panic but Brisbane’s new international cruise terminal is officially going ahead!

Following the Australian consumer watch dog’s (ACCC) conditional approval of the project last month, Port of Brisbane and Carnival Australia announced today they reached a commencement agreement.

The new port should be operational by mid-2020 and is expected to generate almost $5 billion in economic value for the Queensland economy alone within 15 years.

“The decision means Port of Brisbane will now get on with the job of building the terminal, which is a key plank of Queensland’s tourism growth story,” PBPL Chief Executive Officer Roy Cummins said.

“The agreement with Carnival Australia gives us commercial certainty to construct the BICT, and we thank them for their ongoing support.  This is also good news for the cruise industry as a whole, which will benefit from access to a world-class terminal facility.”

“Cementing this partnership today means we can avoid delays and maintain our construction timeline which – weather permitting – targets completion in second quarter 2020.”

CLIA Australasia & Asia Managing Director Joel Katz said the association welcomes the announcement.

“As was highlighted at the launch of CLIA’s 2017 Australia Source Market statistics recently, Australia has the highest demand for cruise in the world, but growth is being inhibited by infrastructure constraints across the region,” said Katz.

“Cruising is one of Australian tourism’s great growth stories, and this new purpose-built cruise ship terminal will boost Australia’s international reputation as a cruise destination, and will support continued growth of cruise in the region.”

President of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia, Sture Myrmell, said the new terminal was a ‘win-win’ for cruising as well as the Queensland economy.

“It means Brisbane can take its place on the world cruising map for some of the globe’s most iconic cruise lines with ships too large to use existing facilities at Portside,” Mr Myrmell said.

“This project creates the opportunity for Queensland and its many regional ports to become the nation’s powerhouse for the cruise industry’s continued growth at a time when industry figures show infrastructure constraints around Australia are slowing momentum.”

Following the commencement agreement, Carnival also announced that Carnival Spirit will be the brand’s first ship to homeport in Brisbane.

Carnival Spirit will arrive into her new home in 2020, where she will sail year-round from Brisbane to the stunning tropical archipelagos of Vanuatu and New Caledonia, as well as offer shorter cruises to well-loved destinations in North Queensland.

Itineraries for Carnival Spirit’s 2020 Brisbane sailings will be announced mid-June 2018 with bookings opening in early July 2018.