The Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) has released plans for the new berth which will open in time for the 2019-2020 wave season and will accommodate ships the size of Oasis of the Seas.
LPC ce Peter Davie said he hoped the port would host up to 70 cruise ships annually.
‘With the new cruise berth there will be the potential to attract at least another 20,000 passengers who have been sailing past this region, Davie said.
Since the earthquake cruise ships have been calling at Akaroa where passengers have to go ashore in tenders and then face more than an hour’s bus ride into Christchurch.
Akaroa’s inability to handle ships with more than 3,000 passengers has also been an issue for cruise companies with larger ships coming on line.
‘The berth will future proof Christchurch as a cruise destination of choice for the next few decades, with the capacity to accommodate the largest ships coming to our part of the world,’ LPC chairman Trevor Burt said.
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