Second berth for cruise ships will be built in Sydney harbour
New berth in Sydney will allow more cruise ships to visit
A second berth for cruise ships will be built in Sydney harbour, with the cost shared by the three levels of government.
Premier Stephen McNeil and Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking made the announcement before a large crowd at the waterfront in Sydney this morning.
The province, federal government and Cape Breton Regional Municipality will each pay a third of the estimated $20 million cost.
Mayor Cecil Clarke, who campaigned in the fall municipal election on a promise for a second berth, drew a standing ovation from the crowd.
"I got up this morning and thought it was Christmas morning," Clarke told the crowd. "What was going through my head was I saw two ships come sailing in."
Need to acquire land
He said if "weather and everything else works out OK" then the berth could be built by the fall of 2018. One issue could be gaining ownership of the land where the berth is set to be located.
Clarke said the municipality has been negotiating with the owner, but it may have to resort to expropriation. The municipality values the property at between $1 million and $2 million. Clarke did not say how much the owner is asking.
Bernadette MacNeil, manager of marketing and development for the Port of Sydney, said the 287-metre berth will accommodate ships the size of the Queen Mary 2, which has the capacity for nearly 2,700 passengers.
"It means that we are going to be prepared for an industry that has larger ships. But more importantly it allows us to sustain the industry," she said.
MacNeil used the Disney Cruise line, which will refuse to anchor and ferry passengers to shore, as an example. If Sydney cannot offer it a berth because it is already booked, it will lose Disney as a customer.