PANAMA CITY, March 13: PSA International, which runs the world's busiest container port in Singapore, announced on Monday it would build a $100 million container terminal at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal.

PSA chief executive Eddie Teh said the new facility will be able to handle 450,000 containers in 2009 when it starts up operations. The terminal will be built on the former US Rodman naval base at the canal's Pacific mouth.

"The new terminal will double the installed port capacity in the country, importantly offering new job opportunities for Panamanians together with the transfer of advanced technology," said Panama's President Martin Torrijos. The move is the latest in Panama's privatisation of port operations along the strategic canal bridging the Atlantic and Pacific.

The arrival of PSA follows its Hong Kong rival Hutchison, which operates two facilities, one on each end of the canal.—AFP