Hanjin signs 10-year lease extension at Seattle port

Hanjin signs 10-year lease extension at Seattle port    Hanjin Shipping, a customer of the port of Seattle since 1979, has extended its lease agreement for Terminal 46 for another 10 years.
   The container terminal lease extends through 2015 with an option for another 10 years beyond that.
   Total Terminals International (TTI), a partnership between Hanjin and Marine Terminals Corp. of San Francisco, is the lessee. TTI also operates terminals for Hanjin in Oakland and Long Beach ports.
   As part of the lease extension agreement the port is committed to investing up to $3 million in capital improvements at the Terminal 46 by 2010. Accordingly, TTI could be liable to reimburse some of the investment money to the port if the terminal handles less than 180,000 containers annually from 2010 through 2015.
   The port recently made $72 million worth of improvements to Terminal 46 including three new container cranes, pier upgrades, a new 16-lane truck gate, new terminal buildings and additional acreage, the port said in a statement.
   In a separate matter, an economic study by Martin Associates found the port of Seattle transportation facilities supported nearly 200,000 jobs in the Puget Sound region in 2003 and generated more than $12 billion in business revenue and $626 million in state and local taxes.