Spanish shipping company Baleària has penned a contract with LaNaval Shipyard for the construction of a liquefied natural gas and solar-powered ferry.

Scheduled to start operations in 2019, the ferry will be the largest operating in the Mediterranean and among the largest in the world, according to the company.

The announcement comes on the back of the order agreed between the parties in September 2015.

Baleària will invest some EUR175m (US$190.2m) in this project.

The company has an option for a second ferry, which would bring the total amount of the deal up to EUR350m (US$390m).

"The signing of the contract, after months of working together, confirms our strategy of working closely with our customers from the earliest conceptual stages," said Jose Ignacio Irasuegui, managing director of LaNaval.

Featuring a length of 232.2 meters and a beam of 30.4, the ferry will have a capacity for 1,600 passengers and 340 vehicles.