New Cruise Terminal for Brisbane is now full steam ahead
A new international cruise terminal will be operating in Brisbane within two years after Port of Brisbane and Carnival Australia announced they had reached a commercial agreement.
The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) at Luggage Point will be operating by mid-2020 and is expected to generate almost $5 billion in economic value for the Queensland economy alone within 15 years.
The amended commercial agreement between Australia’s Port of the Year, Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) and Australia’s leading cruise organisation, Carnival Australia, follows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) conditional approval of the project last month.
Carnival Australia is the only cruise operator to base ships in Australia full-time through its brands of P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line and has been at the forefront of the sector’s growth for more than 10 years. It also represents other iconic cruise lines including Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises UK and Seabourn.
Both PBPL and Carnival Australia had been considering the commercial implications of the ACCC’s conditions and have agreed a way forward in the best interests of the cruise industry, Queensland tourism and the state’s economy.
The BICT is expected to generate at least $3.7 billion in economic value over 15 years by opening up Brisbane to more and larger ships from Carnival Australia’s fleet alone. This is in addition to the more than $1 billion that cruising already contributes to the Queensland economy through fees and charges, purchase of fresh produce and passenger spend.
Carnival Australia has entered into a long-term agreement with Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd committing to purchase a maximum of 100 ‘foundation’ berthing days of no more than four in any week for 15 years to underwrite the construction of the new terminal at Luggage Point. In exchange, Carnival Australia receives priority berthing rights at the terminal.
Carnival Australia’s arrangements remain subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
