A Norway-bound ship loaded on Sunday was among the last vessels handled at the terminal this year.
"This was one of the last cargo handling operations at our terminal this year. In June, we are halting out cargo handling operations due to the upgrading of the quays and the construction of the new ro-ro terminal," Benediktas Petrauskas, the CEO of KKKT, said in a press release on Monday.
Achemos Grupė has said that it will invest around 72.5 million litas (EUR 21 m) in the new terminal, which is expected to be launched by the end of June 2013.
Once built, the terminal will increase KKKT's annual capacity to 5 million tons. The terminal will be able to accommodate up to three ferries at a time and to handle around 500,000 cars and up to a million passengers per year.
Latvijas Tilti, one of Latvia's biggest road and bridge construction companies, is building the terminal's infrastructure under a contract worth 112.465 million litas. It is to build around 950 meters of quays by the summer of 2013.
The European Commission has approved 18 million euros in financing for the new passenger and cargo ferry facility. The Klaipėda port authority and the terminal's operator are to invest almost 200 million litas in the project in total.
