Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Press Release:

Agreement Between Panama Canal and New Locks Contractor Takes Effect

Date: 20-MAR-2014

Panama City, Panama, March 20, 2014 - The agreement between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and Grupo Unidos por el Canal. S.A. (GUPC) takes effect today after signature by all the parties.

As announced on February 27, the agreement falls within the terms of the Contract for the Design and Construction of the Third Set of Locks and does not include any payment for claims. GUPC's claims must be processed through the mechanisms within the contract.

The final agreement provides that:

The contractor finishes the works in December 2015.
The contractor will deliver in Panama the 12 lock gates currently in Italy by February 2015. The gates are to be transported in staggered shipments.
GUPC will pay US$100 million and ACP will advance US$100 million (guaranteed), which will enable works to regain a normal pace.
The Performance Bond for US$400 million may only be released to Zurich North America, for the contractor to obtain financing for the same amount to complete the work.
The moratorium for the repayment of advances may be extended until 2018, subject to fulfillment of certain milestones and other conditions.

The consortium is formed by Sacyr Vallehermoso, S.A (Spain), Impregilo, S.p.A. (Italy), Jan de Nul Group (Belgium) and Constructora Urbana, S.A. (CUSA) (Panama).

About the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
The ACP is the 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. Please refer to the ACP's website: http://www.pancanal.com/ or follow us on Twitter @thepanamacanal.