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SUNNYVALE and SAN DIEGO - 12/02/03 - The US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $17.5 million loan guarantee to support the sale by Advanced Research & Applications Corp. (ARACOR) of Sunnyvale and San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of cargo inspection systems to Jamaica.

The Port Authority of Jamaica, Kingston, will use the x-ray and gamma ray imagery machines at its two terminal facilities, the Kingston Container Terminal and Port Bustamente, to inspect trucks, containers, cargo, and passenger vehicles for explosive devices and contraband.

The sale is being supported under Ex-Im Bank's new Transportation Security Export Program, which provides enhanced financing for US exports of products and services that improve the security of international transportation systems.

Jamaica is buying the equipment not only to meet port and transshipment competition in the Caribbean, but also to meet new US cargo security guidelines required of its trading partners, Ex-Im said.

SAIC will provide five Mobile and five Pallet Vehicle and Cargo Inspection Systems (VACIS) Cobalt-60 gamma systems, while ARACOR, a 40-employee company, will supply one Eagle XIS x-ray system.

The Ex-Im Bank Transportation Security Program is available to support US exports of machinery, equipment, goods, and services for a wide range of security-related functions, including screening and identification of cargo, baggage and passengers; data collection and analysis; and communications.

The financing enhancements under the program are the maximum allowable repayment terms under the guidelines of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and support for local costs in the host country of up to 15% of the US net contract value.

"The US Container Security Initiative which gives preferential treatment to cargo containers that are secured through inspections, coupled with the substantial financial losses associated with duty fraud, has resulted in a major demand for our Eagle cargo inspection system," said ARACOR CEO, Dr. R.A. Armistead.

"The new Ex-Im Bank Transportation Security Export Program enables some countries to purchase cargo inspection systems that would otherwise have difficulty in arranging financing," he said.

The program is available in every country where the Bank is currently open to provide export financing.

Ex-Im Bank's initiative complements a number of other US government programs, such as the Secured Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) initiative to increase international security cooperation among the nations of the Asian Pacific region and the "Smart Border" programs with Mexico and Canada.

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