The move comes after council chief executive Ged Fitzgerald announced last week that the council was finalising the investment plans.

“We are drawing up plans for a new cruise liner facility that will attract the biggest cruise liners and generate a wide economic impact. A report will go to the council’s cabinet,” he said.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work in the technology of the engineering in the river because it’s got its own complexities. The range of the tide is very significant, so being able to get the right solution riverside is important. And then we’ve got to work out what we can do on the land side of the terminal to justify the cost of building into the river.

“It will demand significant investment, which will be expensive,” he added. “But we are determined to make sure it’s the right solution, it’s a sustainable solution, it adds to the economic offering of the city and it adds to the economic impact that the cruise liner industry has already brought to the city.”

The move would enable larger cruise ships to use the terminal as a turnaround port, with local media suggesting the terminal would be able to welcome ships carrying up to 3,600 passengers.

Regional travel agents applauded the announcement and said it would help to introduce a raft of new customers to cruise – particularly in the family market.

Jessica Matthews, assistant manager at Myriad Travel, told TTG: “We sell a lot of cruises, but only CMV and Fred Olsen tend to sail out of Liverpool, so for a lot of our customers [who want a different line], they have to fly or
go to Southampton.

“I think the new terminal will attract a lot of new-to-cruise customers. Fred Olsen and CMV aren’t as family friendly [as other lines], so a lot of people just disregard cruise automatically because they don’t want to have to travel to Southampton or fly. A new terminal would make a massive difference for us – and for the city because it would bring more visitors to Liverpool on day visits from the ships too.”

Local Travel Counsellor Ian Hughes agreed: “It would help create a northern hub for cruising – this could be a really good selling tool.

“I have some cruise customers, but they tend to fly rather than have to go down to Southampton. If they could have cruises on their doorstep, it would be a much better prospect for them than having to worry about sorting out flights and immigration queues at the airport.”