ALGECIRAS INVITES BIDS FOR PORT EXPANSION

ALGECIRAS INVITES BIDS FOR PORT EXPANSION    The Port Authority of Algeciras Bay has invited bids for the expansion of the port of Algeciras, one of the largest container transshipment hubs in the Mediterranean.
   The port will invest 124 million euro ($133 million) in the first phase of development of the project, scheduled to be completed in 2006. All the phases of work on the project will cost a total of nearly 500 million euro ($535 million)
   The Quay & Outer Esplanade Adjacent Isla Verde Breakwater Quay project will be divided into two phases. Once completed, they will provide a 112-hectare (277-acre) surface area, 2,675 meters of quay and 1,626 meters of breakwater.
   The first phase will include a 697-meter quay with 17.5-meter draughts, a 642-meter breakwater, and a terminal area of 46 hectares (114 acres).
   In 2002, the port of Algeciras Bay handled 2.2 million TEUs, 55 million tonnes of general cargo and 150,000 trucks.