Brazil's EDPI Ship Repair Yard Project gets Funding Approval

 At the 33rd ordinary meeting on Thursday, 1 December, the Board of Directors of the Merchant Marine Fund (CDFMM), at the Ministry of Transport, Ports and Civil Aviation in Brasilia (DF), approved to finance basis 2.15 billion reais for the construction of a new ship repair facility in Brazil as part of a 9.15 billion reais program for new and existing projects.

The approval was issued for the Empresa de Docagens Pedra do Ingá (EDPI) ship repair yard facility of the Brasil Basin Drydock
Company (BBDC). The yard will be located in the municipality of Lucena, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraíba.

With the publication of this priority granted by the CDFMM in the Official Gazette of the Brazilian Union, the BBDC will be able to contract the financing with the agreed financial agents BNDES, Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica, Banco do Nordeste or
Banco da Amazônia. The FMM can finance up to 90% of the value of the project, with the definition of the credit percentage
depending on a number of project parameters.

This announcement follows receipt by the BBDC of the Licença Prévia (LP – Preliminary Environmental License) from the
relevant authorities in Brazil in July of this year and clears the way to support funding efforts for the project. Representing founding shareholders McQuilling Partners, Inc., Dave Saginaw, Project Director of the Brasil Basin Drydock Company, conveyed that: “We continue to move forward. Since the beginning of this project in 2010 we have proceeded systematically and methodically through some very difficult periods with a focus on planning, preparation and effort. This hard work by a very dedicated and passionate team is now bearing fruit.”

“The year 2016 has seen tremendous progress for the new ship repair yard project. We have achieved several important milestones and the project has substantial momentum at present” said Celso P. Souza, BBDC Project Manager for the EDPI facility development.

Mr. Souza advised that the project is expected to obtain the installation license before the end of the year and efforts were
underway to complete the basic design engineering for the facility during 2017. Mr. Saginaw added that concurrent with the
technical activities, the main focus now is to secure the primary funding for the project, and that these activities are underway to support beginning construction within 2017, and first repairs in 2019.