(Photo: Agencies)

RABAT, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Morocco on Friday inaugurated a new terminal at Tanger Med port that increases the port's capacity to 9 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) to be the biggest container port in the Mediterranean, official Magreb Arab Press (MAP) reported.

The new terminal is 50 km east of the city of Tangier, near the Strait of Gibraltar, a fundamental hub for the maritime route of cargo.

Tanger Med's first terminal had an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs in 2018, while this new extension costs 1.3 billion euros (1.48 billion US dollars), according to port officials.

Tanger Med connects Morocco to 77 countries and 186 ports.