A year on from Chancellor George Osborne’s promise to look into the delays surrounding Falmouth’s capital dredging project along the coast the Port of Plymouth is the latest port to announce a major plan to invest in its port infrastructure to attract cruise ships to the city by 2019.

This month alone the ports of Cobh and Portland have also confirmed important port projects relating to the cruise industry.

Falmouth’s neighbouring ports are engaged in substantial projects such is the importance placed on the economic gains to be made from the cruise industry.

The capital-dredging plan for Falmouth is rapidly becoming a farce after more than a decade on the drawing board with public confidence in the scheme slowly on the wane.

On a visit to the port last year George Osborne promised that the Government would look into the problems surrounding the dredging project.

When I questioned the Chancellor he said: “I want to see this (dredging) happen,” “If the government can provide financial support I want to look at that. We have had long enough to talk about, we must do it.

“I have had several meetings over the last couple of years over dredging. We have got to make real decisions about what kind of economic future we want."

Falmouth will see 29 cruise ships this year and maybe more if bad weather prevents ships from berthing at other ports including the Isles Of Scilly. Huge financial gains for the area would come in the wake of any dredging when the world’s largest cruise ships could dock here.

Later this year Millbay docks’ owner ABP will market the Plymouth as an international cruise destination.

The company intends to see small cruise ships on the Millbay ferry port site by 2019 with plans to extend this berth in time for larger ships to berth in 2020 in time for the 400th Mayflower anniversary

Leading cruise industry consultants GP Wild International carried out the economic report to investigate all aspects of Plymouth’s potential to be a top southwest cruise ship destination.

GP Wild’s report much of which is commercially sensitive said that the potential

benefits to the economy were up to £24.8 million a year, plus 530 jobs. The report said each cruise passenger is worth £128 to the economy.