(ANSAmed) - ROME - Two operating Terminals, 1600 linear metres of wharf, a 3 million-capacity for containers over an overall surface of 80 hectares: supported by structures and investments, the port of Tanger Med is in the forefront of the world traffic network. Thanks to the work for expansion under way, in the next few years it will become the major Mediterranean port, as well as one of the first 10 worldwide, handling more than 8 million containers per year, 10 million tonnes of hydrocarbons, 7 million passengers and 3 million vehicles. An astounding amount of traffic which explains the reasons for the construction of the Moroccan port, not only a reference port, but also a logistics and entrepreneurial reference for the entire region. Favoured by its strategic geographic location, in the Straits of Gibraltar between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the structure can intercept the handling of container ships both on the East-West routes and on the North-South routes. After the opening, in summer 2007, of Tanger Med I, operations are due to begin in July this year in the Passenger Terminal, which opened on the quiet some weeks ago, and which will strengthen the port's receptive capacity, handling point - along with its major competitor, the Spanish port of Algeciras - of the tourist flows across the Mediterranean. There is also work under way to expand the TFZ (Tanger Free Zone), which will increase it from the current thousand to five thousand hectares destined for industrial plants and services which will join the 500 companies already there, including several small and medium foreign companies. Highway connections are not lacking, some are already implemented, which will connect the city of Tangiers with the port and seafront between Ceuta and Tetouan, as well as links to Moroccan railway. In 2009, moreover, the second phase of the project started up to realise Tanger Med II, whose inauguration is planned in five years time. A massive infrastructural effort with the participation of several foreign companies, committed to realising plants and installations. The second expansion phase, which the Moroccan Transport Minister, Karim Ghellab, says will cost about 1.14 billion dollars, in fact, has been awarded to a consortium headed by the French Bouygues, participated by Belgian Baisex, Moroccan Bymaro and Somagec along with Italian Saipem, which is responsible for the fuel storage terminal. And results, also due to a slight recovery in world trade, are obvious: according to the Speciale Tanger Mediterranee' agency (TMSA), which administers the port hub, in first quarter 2010 Tanger Med handled an overall traffic of 3.8 million tonnes, up 74% year-on-year and 43% from last quarter 2009, whilst containers marked an increase of 50% year-on-year, up to 407,844 units. (ANSAmed).