Rio, 3/23/2004 (Agência Brasil) - The president of the Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social) (BNDES), Carlos Lessa, says he is in favor of a special fund to finance Brazil's shipbuilding industry. Lessa says the money could come from partnerships with institutional investors and the already-existent Merchant Marine Fund. The objective would be to give shipbuilders the ability to provide guarantees when they borrow to build ships.

Lessa explained that the fund could be modeled on the process used to finance the construction of aircraft. He said that there was an immediate opportunity to build 12 ships for coastal transport, which could translate into savings of US$500 million (R$1.5 billion) to US$600 million (R$1.8 billion) for a deficitary sector. (translator: Allen Bennett)