Panama Canal Begins Process to Select Firm that will Design and Build New Locks

ACP RELEASES PREQUALIFICATION RFQ; CHOOSES DESIGN-BUILD ROUTE

PANAMA CITY, Panama, August 28, 2007 – In another sign that Panama Canal expansion is moving forward at a steady, methodical pace, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) released yesterday a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the construction of the new set of locks to be built under the Canal’s Expansion Program.

The document is available at: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/procsales/buy.html.

The release of the RFQ is part one of a two-phase process to determine the firm that will ultimately design and build the new locks. During this first prequalification stage, the ACP will evaluate responses (also called SOQ or Statement of Qualification) from prospective firms based on a combination of pass/fail criteria and capabilities. The four firms that meet the ACP’s needs with the highest number of points will move to the second and final round. The short-list-selection is expected to be announced by the end of November 2007.

“We expect firms from all around the globe to respond; this is the most important contract within the Expansion Program. Over the last several months we have seen a number of international consortia being formed to participate in our contracting process, all with a keen interest to undertake the design and construction of this project of global significance. There are many talented and creative firms out there that have the technical and financial strength to carry out this work successfully. We look forward to selecting, towards the end of next year, the consortium that submits the best proposal,” ACP Executive Vice President of Engineering and Program Management Jorge L. Quijano said.

In the second and final round, the ACP will release an RFP and respondents will submit a bid proposal. Other important dates in this process are: a site visit September 12, 2007 and a project information meeting September 13, 2007.

The Expansion Program will build a new lane of traffic 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.

IMPORTANT PROCUREMENT INFORMATION:

Except for the public information meeting and the optional site visit, all information between the ACP and the prospective proposers will be provided in written form through the designated ACP Contracting Officer. The ACP will share all submitted queries and ACP responses with all parties preparing a response to the RFQ. The ACP will not divulge the names of those parties submitting queries.

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. 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.