Posted on May 23, 2017
By Nick Dalton, Cairns Post
QUEENSLAND Treasurer Curtis Pitt is confident an environmental study will give the green light for dredging of the Cairns shipping channel to allow bigger ships to enter the port.
He said he was “excited” about the results of Ports North’s drawn-out Environmental Impact Statement due at the end of next month.
Mr Pitt said he expected the plan “will see us able to bring bigger sized vessels into Trinity Inlet.
He said more than 60 cruise ships were expected this year at the port and “the expectation is we’ll be able to grow that number enormously and with bigger vessels once the bed levelling, channel deepening and widening is undertaken”.
“I am very confident, that when this study is released, we will have all of the elements in place to ensure that we can get cruise ships of up to 300m (long), which is essentially the larger industry standard that we are talking about, into Trinity Inlet, which is going to mean more money into the local economy,” Mr Pitt said.
He said no cost had been determined but he estimated it would be about $120 million with onshore disposal as opposed to dumping on the Great Barrier Reef.
Major cruise operators have called for improved port infrastructure to allow larger ships to enter Australian ports, including Cairns.
David Jones of Carnival Australia said channel dredging in Cairns were “matters for local authorities and the community to determine”.
Source: Cairns Post
