It is reported that Hanjin plans to spend some EUR 55.3 million on construction of the new facilities in what is the first direct investment by an Asian shipping line in Spain and the Western Mediterranean.

The Algeciras Bay Port Authority said the bidding process was completed last year on December 21st 2008 and Hanjin was the only party to offer on the tender.

Hanjin said the new facilities are due to come on stream by July 2010 with the capability of handling some 1.5 million TEUs per year.

Mr JW Park CEO of Hanjin said “Securing a dedicated terminal in Algeciras will allow us to set forth into the African market. He said “It also allows us to secure an optimum hub port for making our presence in markets such as North Europe, the US east coast and South America.”

Hanjin currently operates 11 terminals around the world and MoUs were signed in 2007 to develop dedicated facilities in Vietnam and Jacksonville on the US East Coast. Other Hanjin US terminals are situated on the west coast at Long Beach, Oakland and Seattle.