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Port Canaveral commissioners approved a series of cruise terminal upgrades Wednesday in an effort to ensure the port can accommodate larger cruise ships in the future, Florida Today reported.
The upgrades will involve Cruise Terminals 5 and 10.
The commissioners also approved $90 million in financing for aforementioned upgrades. The upcoming projects on the two terminals are expected to total approximately $81 million.
In addition to a 700-car parking garage, projects on Terminal 5 will include a renovation of the terminal and the construction of passenger boarding bridges. The trio of projects together will cost just under $39.6 million.
Once completed, the upgrades will allow Terminal 5 to handle 3,500-passenger cruise ships compared to its current limit of 2,500-passenger ships.
At Cruise Terminal 10, the remodeling will include a second floor revamp as well as new gangways, a pier extension and a new pier wall. Altogether, the build will cost $41.7 million.
Afterward, Terminal 10 will be able to manage 5,000-passenger vessels, up from its current limit of 3,200-passenger ships. The jump is significant considering the port is set to house Norwegian Cruise Line's 4,100-passenger Norwegian Epic when it sets up base there in November 2016.
Carnival Cruise Line will also be utilizing the refurbished terminals.
"These are good customers," Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh told Florida Today, adding that the port wants to "continue to say 'yes'" when cruise lines look to bring larger ships and additional ships to the port.
In addition to allowing Port Canaveral to accommodate more ships and larger ships, the upgrades allow the port to put off building a new cruise terminal for the time being. That's significant, as such an investment could cost anywhere between $115 million to $140 million, per Florida Today.
If the projects weren't approved by port commissioners, the two terminals would have required a combined $21.2 million in repairs.
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