By Dom Welling.

Iberia and AENA are to jointly build a new cargo terminal at Madrid-Barajas Airport worth €100 million.

Iberia will spend €60 million and AENA will spend €40 million on the new facility which will make Madrid Barajas the largest hub for air cargo to and from Latin America in Europe.

The 39,000sqm terminal will stand on a 92,000sqm site between runways 15 and 33, and near the apron of the T4 satellite building, which is used for most Latin American flights.

The project will be handled by AENA's CLASA unit, which is responsible for the development and management of airport logistical operations at all Spanish airports.

According to Iberia, the new terminal will substantially reduce aircraft loading and unloading times, and boost the efficiency and quality of the company's air cargo handling services at the airport.

In 2010, the gateway's cargo terminal handled more than 373,000 tonnes of freight - an increase of 23.3% on the previous year.

Of this total, Iberia was responsible for shipping more than 175,000 tonnes - or 47% - but with the new terminal this figure is expected to triple to 650,000 tonnes by 2030.

When the terminal opens in 2015, it is expected to create 400 direct jobs, and up to a further 1,000 indirect jobs on services such as customs, security, and ground transportation. Jobs will also open up in services such as health, hospitality and retail.

At the moment, more than 200 logistics and transportation companies and related firms are located in the 60-hectare air cargo complex at Madrid-Barajas.