Council to buy back land to ease traffic around new cruise terminal

Brisbane City Council will buy back private land to ease traffic congestion around Brisbane’s new cruise ship terminal.

The $158 million cruise ship terminal at Luggage Point is expected to open by the end of the year, in time for the 2020 “cruising season”.

A multi-million-dollar roadwork plan was approved late last year to allow tour buses to use the network of roads to connect passengers with hotels and destinations.

Council made a 50/50 funding deal with the Port of Brisbane to deliver $11 million worth of roadworks around the terminal.

Private, state government and commonwealth land now needs to be bought back in order to deliver the new infrastructure.

Council will acquire a 103 square metre snippet of private land at Pinkenba for “road purposes”.

Lord mayor Graham Quirk said council had received no objection from the people who own the property.

He said council would be having "separate conversations" with state and federal governments to buy more land.

Opposition leader Peter Cumming said Labor councillors were on board with the land resumption.

The proposal will now go to natural resources minister Anthony Lynham for approval.

About 150 ships visit Brisbane each year and the new terminal will have capacity to accommodate as many as 700 per year, Cr Quirk said.

“The cruise ship industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in our state’s tourism industry and our city is a key cruise port," he said.

Currently, ocean liners longer than 270 metres have to dock at the simple grain terminal at the Port of Brisbane’s Fisherman Island while smaller ships can pull up at Portside Wharf at Hamilton.