APM Terminals Tangier and the Morocco-based Akwa Group have announced the opening of their new container terminal in Tangier Port.

The terminal was opened effectively to serve up to 200 vessels a day that pass through the Straits of Gibraltar as they transit on north-south and east-west liner trade routes. Tangier is a deep water port capable of handling the world's largest container ships and is equipped with advanced container handling equipment.

The new terminal has created 300 jobs and 700 more staff are expected to be employed at the facility by the end of the year, a statement from APM Terminals said.

The port project is tied to the largest-ever infrastructure project in Morocco, the EUR1.3 billion (US$1.78 billion) Tangier Port Project, that includes new highways, railway lines, several container terminals with a total capacity of eight million TEU, and industrial, commercial and logistical zones, among other infrastructures. The development works are expected to be completed in 2010.