The new amendment commits Hanjin to a 10-year lease with a one-time, five-year lease extension option. Hanjin currently occupies 60 acres at Terminal 46 and will immediately increase its operations to 70 acres and then to 88 acres in 2004. Container cargo volumes are expected to increase as the size of the shipper's terminal grows.

"This is tremendous economic news for the Port and for the community we serve," said Clare Nordquist, chairperson of the Port Commission. "Our region's links to international trade – and Seattle's role as an international business center and gateway – all have been strengthened by this agreement."

The lease amendment commits the Port to investing approximately $50 million in improvements to Terminal 46, including new truck gates, three new container cranes, yard improvements, and a new administrative building. All of the improvements will help Hanjin increase its cargo handling in Seattle.

"We are excited to be staying in Seattle," said Ole Sweedlund, vice president and deputy managing director for Hanjin Shipping Company. "Our ties with the Port of Seattle and the region have been strong, and we are looking forward to prospering under this new lease amendment."

Port CEO M. R. Dinsmore said the long-term lease with Hanjin underscores Seattle's competitiveness as a gateway port. "Keeping a growing customer like Hanjin in the highly competitive container shipping business is testament to the Port of Seattle's ability to thrive in this environment," Dinsmore said. "The Port's commitment to improving our region's transportation and business infrastructures will keep us in a leadership role for many years to come."

Hanjin first came to Seattle in 1979, when the company secured 10 acres of a shared container terminal on Harbor Island. It increased its presence in 1986 and has since been one of the Port's largest volume shippers.

Steve Sewell, Seaport Managing Director, said a recent citizens' advisory committee studying the Seaport's business practices strongly recommended that the Seaport continued to grow its container terminal business. "The highest paying jobs on the waterfront are a direct result of the Port's container terminal investments," Sewell said. "Signing Hanjin to a long-term agreement means those jobs will stay here in Seattle and help improve our community's bottom line."

Hanjin's expanded cargo operations means an increase of more than $83.5 million annually in area business revenue, a $13.5 million increase in local purchases, and more than $4.8 million in state and local taxes generated by the increase in cargo traffic through Hanjin's terminal.

Sewell noted that improvements to the region's transportation infrastructure, most notably the Freight Action Strategy for the Seattle-Tacoma (FAST) Corridor, would greatly improve Hanjin's operations.

"We have been able to meet Hanjin's needs for growth and can accommodate the company into the future," Sewell said. "Hanjin's terminal is literally across the street from the rail lines, and the operation is already one of the most efficient cargo terminals on the waterfront. We look forward to working with Hanjin to make this good partnership even better."