OEC, leader in the engineering and heavy construction sector in Brazil, and PowerChina, one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in the world, have signed an agreement to expand their capacity to participate and execute large infrastructure works in Brazilian territory. The partnership was formalized on March 29, by representatives of the two companies, during a business event as part of the bilateral meeting between Brazil and China. The conversations started over a year ago.

The agreement aims to facilitate that the Brazilian construction company and PowerChina form consortiums for prospecting and joint performance in business opportunities, allowing the combination of technical excellence, financial robustness and efficiency of execution of the two pioneers in the engineering and construction sector, maximizing the delivery capacity and competitiveness of this consortium. With the management model defined in advance and once the parties make the decision to participate in a specific project or bid, the association between them is easily formalized, bringing agility and efficiency from the beginning.

"This partnership opens a very positive horizon for both companies and for infrastructure contractors, generating jobs and boosting the economy in Brazil. OEC and PowerChina enable a new front of competitiveness for the industry and national infrastructure, being able to associate with each other to meet market demand in large and highly complex works," says the CEO of OEC, Mauricio Cruz Lopes.

PowerChina evaluates that the prospects for the sector in the three-year period 2023-25 are very positive. "The end of the pandemic opened the way for some of the major infrastructure bottlenecks to go to auction, which in itself will generate a great demand for works. In addition, we see that there is a pact between the Executive and Legislative branches to facilitate public and private investments in infrastructure, which tends to generate a circle of sustainable growth for Brazil. Both companies can work together, always with compliance and good governance, to contribute to this recovery cycle", says Hou Xiaotun, PowerChina's president for the Americas.

Market - OEC grew again in 2022, recording revenues of US$ 876 millions, a volume 65% higher than the previous period. The company's efforts, which resulted in positive figures, occurred at a time when the sector shrank as a whole in Brazil. According to ABDIB (Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries), the volume of investments in construction works in the country has dropped 31% since 2014. Public investment, meanwhile, has been halved. In 2021, total investments in infrastructure corresponded to only 1.57% of GDP, the

lowest level of the historical series organized by CNI (National Confederation of Industry), when annual investments of 4.3% of GDP would be necessary over the next ten years to reduce bottlenecks to economic and social development.

About OEC

Throughout its 78-year history, OEC - Engineering and Construction has been responsible for the execution of more than 2,900 large-scale projects in more than 30 countries around the world, such as hydroelectric, thermal and nuclear power plants, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, subway lines and urban trains, airports, ports, railroads, refineries, industrial and mining projects. In 2021, OEC received for the tenth consecutive year the Global Best Projects award, granted by the North-American magazine ENR - Engineering News-Record, a distinction considered by the market as the Oscar of world engineering. For its performance oriented to Sustainability, since 2014 OEC has been receiving the Gold Seal of the GHG Protocol program, which gathers inventories of greenhouse gas emissions. It currently employs more than 18,000 workers of different nationalities in more than twenty construction sites spread across countries in the Americas and Africa.

About PowerChina

Present in more than 130 countries, Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) is a global leader in energy infrastructure projects and renewable sources, such as hydropower, photovoltaic and thermal power plants, with solutions that cover the entire global chain, including design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of equipment. In 2022, PowerChina was listed 100th in the "Fortune Global 500" ranking, 30th among China's top 500 companies, and 5th in Engineering News-Record's Top 250 Global Engineering Contractors.