The five-member San Francisco Port Commission has voted unanimously to approve the construction of a new cruise terminal at Pier 27.

The project will meet growing needs of San Francisco’s cruise business and provide platform for 2013 America’s Cup Races, officials said earlier.

“For more than two decades, we have been trying to find the mechanism and the money to construct a new cruise terminal that is befitting of the city’s prominence as a world class destination,” said San Francisco mayor Edwin Lee.

“Now that the Port Commission has adopted the Project and the San Francisco Planning Department’s certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report, work can truly begin – work whose construction and completion will bring what we need most: jobs, jobs, jobs.”

It is estimated that the cruise industry last year generated nearly $40 million in economic benefits to the region.

The average economic contribution per home-ported vessel call was close to $1.2 million and the average impact of an in-transit call was $800,000.

Not only does the cruise industry benefit San Francisco’s leading industry, tourism, it also directly benefits San Francisco’s other maritime industries such as tug and tow operators, Bar Pilots, ship suppliers and longshore workers.

The new James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal will be named in honour of the late port commissioner and president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Dean Brown, executive vice president of corporate services for Princess Cruises stated: “As a longtime partner with the Port of San Francisco, Princess Cruises looks forward to calling at a new cruise terminal at Pier 27.

“The new terminal will provide our guests with a more efficient and comfortable experience befitting a city like San Francisco.”

The $86 million facility will replace an existing terminal at nearby Pier 35.