
Belfast Sets Sights on Becoming a Cruise Homeport with £90M Investment
Belfast Harbour is set to invest £90 million in enhancing its cruise ship facilities, aiming to establish the port as a homeport and turnaround port. This initiative is part of a larger £300 million development plan over the next five years and aims to attract major cruise companies to use Belfast as the starting and ending point for cruises, rather than just a stopover.
To achieve this goal, the port plans to relocate its cruise terminal to a new location on Airport Road West. The new facility will feature amenities similar to those found in airports, designed to facilitate efficient turnarounds for roundtrip voyages. According to Belfast Harbour CEO Joe O’Neill, improved infrastructure is vital to accommodate passengers embarking on longer itineraries.
John McGrillen, CEO of Tourism Northern Ireland, emphasized the economic importance of cruise tourism, which currently injects around £25 million into the local economy each year. He suggested that by becoming a homeport, Belfast could significantly increase this figure over the next two or three decades, benefiting not only the city but also smaller attractions and coastal areas visited by cruise passengers.
The new cruise terminal has already received planning approval and is expected to be operational by late 2027 or early 2028. Its relocation will free up space at the current facilities, allowing for an enlarged area dedicated to the growing offshore wind industry, which has plans for approximately 30 wind farm projects along the Irish coast in the coming decade. An enhanced capacity will help Belfast Harbour position itself at the forefront of renewable energy development.
Funding for this investment is currently drawn from retained earnings, but the harbor is exploring a change in its classification to allow for borrowing. As a public corporation, Belfast Harbour faces restrictions on debt, which connects it to the capital budget of Stormont. To overcome these constraints, Belfast Harbour is advocating for a shift to private corporation status, similar to processes adopted in Scotland. This transition would require legal changes that diminish the role of Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister in appointing the harbor board, with the Department of Infrastructure currently holding consultations on these proposed adjustments.
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