Brisbane’s New Cruise Terminal to Open in 2020

A new international cruise terminal will be operating in Brisbane within two years after Port of Brisbane and Carnival Australia reached a commercial agreement.

Illustration. Image Courtesy: Pixabay under CC0 Creative Commons license

The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) at Luggage Point will be operating by mid-2020 and is expected to generate almost AUD 5 billion in economic value for the Queensland economy alone within fifteen years.

The amended agreement between the duo follows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) conditional approval of the project last month.

“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,” Roy Cummins, PBPL Chief Executive Officer, said.

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

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.

“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,” Myrmell commented.

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. Recently, Carnival Cruise announced that Carnival Spirit will become the brand’s first ever ship to home port in Brisbane.