A dedicated mega cruise ship terminal will be built at the Port of Brisbane, fully funded by the private sector, opening up the city and the whole state to ocean tourism.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the $158 million cost would be borne by the Port of Brisbane corporation, after the government gave the green light to the project.
There have been calls for a dedicated cruise ship terminal at the Port of Brisbane for years, with the largest ocean liners unable to fit under the Gateway Bridge.
"There are no dredging issues here, the port is wide enough, it can take those huge ships," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters at the terminal site on Wednesday.
"What we've seen here today is the ability to see a huge boom in cruise liners coming here to Queensland."
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Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the terminal could potentially inject over a billion dollars in tourism-related expenditure across the state over the next two decades.
"It's very rare you say there's a great investment in Brisbane which will also benefit a place like Cairns, but this will benefit ports right up and down the coast," he said.
Shadow Treasurer Scott Emerson welcomed the terminal announcement, but criticised the government for only approving two market-led proposals in three years.
"This project is about working with the private sector in terms of their ideas and trying to help them get those ideas up, but under this scheme more than 100 projects have been put on the table of the government," Mr Emerson told reporters.
Early work on the site will begin in November, with construction of the wharf to begin mid-next-year and work on the terminal itself in 12 months.
Port of Brisbane will partner with Brisbane City Council to upgrade the road system leading into the precinct to ensure visitors from the ships can access the city quickly and easily.
Concerns had been raised over the smell from the nearby Luggage Point Waste Facility, giving an off-putting welcome to Brisbane, but Port of Brisbane CEO Roy Cummins said they had worked with experts to come up with a solution.
"The solution involved a dosing regime using a substance called magnesium hydroxide, which is commonly used in a number of water treatment facilities," Mr Cummins said.
