THE red ribbon was finally cut in an official ceremony to mark the opening of the Port of Airlie marina last week.

While a portion of the marina has been operational for some time, Port of Airlie general manager Andrew Forster said with the recent addition of the Whitsunday Sailing Club arm and further developments at the project, there was now much more to physically open than just a body of water.

Mr Forster said the Port of Airlie development had been a 30-year project extending back to the original vision of Christopher Skase.

"That didn't happen but what did happen was more than 20 years of work that sees us standing here today," he said.

Whitsunday Sailing Club commodore Jim Hayes spoke more about the history of the project and the club's involvement in it to date.

Mr Hayes said it was over 25 years ago that he "timidly" suggested applying for a permit to develop a marina. He said this led to the club being offered the permit to occupy what was then Muddy Bay and the start of a partnership with Transtate to develop the area.

Since this time, the Port of Airlie project has seen many highs and lows and changes on the development front.

Despite significant hurdles, including being placed into receivership, Mr Hayes said it was fantastic to see that all those years of vision, ideas and concepts were finally able to be turned into a practical asset for the sailing club and wider community of Airlie Beach.

"It's a great facility and it can only get better," he said.

Mayor Jennifer Whitney said the project continued to bring quality infrastructure to the area.

"This type of investment will see our region flourish," she said.

"I think that tourism and the community have both had a win out of this."