Paving the Way for Construction Panama Canal Awards the Largest Expansion Contract Thus Far

Date: 07-APR-2008

- DREDGING INTERNATIONAL AWARDED EXPANSION CONTRACT TO DREDGE PACIFIC SEA ENTRANCE
- ACP AWARDS LARGEST CONTRACT IN VALUE TO DATE

PANAMA CITY, Panama, April 4, 2008 - Paving the way for construction, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) awarded the third and largest expansion contract Tuesday to dredge the Pacific sea entrance. The ACP kicked off this next phase of expansion awarding the contract to Dredging International.

The dredging of the Pacific sea entrance is essential to provide enough draft and width for longer, wider ships to pass and enter the new locks.

"As the third and largest expansion program contract in terms of volume, geographical spread and price awarded to date, the selection of Dredging International is a critical next step in the creation of the new lane. This is a solid, top-tier global dredging firm with the know-how and equipment we need to commence the job at hand and complete it on-time and within budget," said ACP Executive Vice President Engineering and Program Management Jorge Quijano. "We received bids from the industry's dredging leaders and now we look forward to issuing the order to proceed to Dredging International over the coming days so that they can begin their mobilization effort promptly."

Dredging work in the Pacific sea entrance is expected to begin during the third quarter of this calendar year. When expansion concludes, as shown in this rendering of the Pacific sea entrance, the dredging project will widen the Canal's approximate 9 mile-long (14 km) navigation channels to a minimum of 715 feet (218 meters) and deepen them to a maximum level of -51 feet (-15.5 meters) Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS).

The ACP released its Request for Proposal (RFP) for the contract August 30, 2007, and previously held site visits and an informational session to answer questions regarding the project.

On March 19, three bidders from two countries submitted proposals to dredge the Pacific sea entrance. After a thorough review of the lowest priced proposal, the ACP awarded the contract to Dredging International.



The Expansion Program will build a new lane along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.

About Dredging International
Dredging International is one of the most important dredging companies in the world and its proposal for the Panama Canal includes the utilization of some of the most advanced equipment that the industry has to offer. Dredging International is also working on other important projects around the world such as the construction of Port 2000 in Havre, France and the deepening of channels in Rio de la Plata located at the Argentina and Uruguay border.

About the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
The ACP is the semi-autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the ACP is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP's Web site: http://www.pancanal.com/. For Panama Canal video, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/panamacanal.

Panama Canal Authority