The Portuguese government will tomorrow invite contractors around the world to bid to build and run a container terminal in the port of Sines, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency quotes Portuguese Minister of the Sea Ana Paula Vitorino saying the contract to build the terminal will require the investment of 642 million euros (US$707.9 million), about 225 million euros of it for equipment and 417 million euros of it for infrastructure, and that the concession to run the terminal will last for 50 years.

Ms Vitorino said would-be contractors would have nine months to make their bids, and that her government expected to award the contract in the fourth quarter of next year.

The report says the construction work should channel 524 million euros into the Portuguese economy and create 1,350 jobs, and that the terminal should be completed by 2024.

The facility will be called the Vasco da Gama Terminal and have the capacity to handle 3.5 million TEUs a year, Xinhua says.