New cruise ship terminal

The San Diego Port Commission has voted to spend $23 (£13) million on a new cruise ship terminal, but there is no real clarity about where the money will come from.

Carnival Cruises has agreed to pay $12 (£6) million towards the terminal, but it’s clear that such a level of funding will only provide a prefabricated warehouse style building that critics have condemned as unsightly and which would also fail to harmonise with the new visionary plans for San Diego's historic downtown waterfront.

The cruise ship industry is bringing millions of dollars to San Diego's economy, so while Port Commissioners approved an upgraded architectural design estimated to cost $23 million, there still isn’t enough money in the pot to build it. The conflict arises because the port development has been seen as a major tourist effort in it s own right and while some commissioners believe that will regenerate the area, others think that the city benefits financially from the cruise ship industry more than it ever can from the Port.