The reconstruction and modernization of the Almirante Irizar Icebreaker did not pretend that at its conclusion the icebreaker would be exactly as the old Irízar, on the contrary the Project pursued a  reconstruction and modernization that could allow the delivery of a new icebreaker vessel with modern equipment and superior performance to the previous (even above the icebreakers available on the market: habitability, load capacity, laboratory capacity, among some other relevant aspects).

The reconstruction of the Almirante Irizar icebreaker in the Argentine Naval Industrial Complex (CINAR) was a decision based on two complementary dimensions:

1. I) promote the development of the argentine naval industry; and
2. II) safeguard the economic efficiency in the administration of public resources.

In the first dimension of the ones exposed, the Irizar project enabled the development of new capacities within the national industry. Specifically in the case of CINAR, the project promoted the generation of new working positions and new knowledge and skills both in the infrastructure of the shipyard facilities and in the training of human resources at all levels, with special emphasis on the direction and management of highly complex naval projects that involve planning, engineering, monitoring and development of a logistics system from a wide spectrum of national and foreign suppliers. Today, this allows CINAR to position itself as a competitive shipyard at a regional level, both in the repairment segment and, especially as a result of this project, in the construction market.

Indirectly, the project promoted the development of national providers of industrial services linked to the construction of equipment and facilities as well as national providers of services linked to the assembly of equipment and facilities, generating a significant number of indirect employment that is added to the ones of CINAR.

Regarding the second dimension of the ones exposed, linked to the economic efficiency in the administration of public resources, there are two aspects to consider:

1. a) the lower cost associated with the reconstruction and modernization of the icebreaker in the country compared to the acquisition of a new icebreaker built abroad; and
2. b) the saving in terms of foreign currency and safeguarding reserves.

According to the first point, the construction of icebreakers is carried out at the request of the client based on the specifications established by this one. It is a process that implies the immediate non-availability of the vessel as there are no products that are worked in series production with available stocks . The possibility of quickly having a new icebreaker for the 2009/2010 season was unfeasible from the point of view of availability in the icebreaker market, taking into account that this type of vessel is mostly owned by countries that use it to carry out their campaigns in the Arctic and Antarctica, an activity considered strategic.

In this sense, the incorporation of an icebreaker with characteristics and benefits similar to the new Almirante Irizar icebreaker is a process that requires between 5 and 7 years considering the times of specification of folders, bidding, evaluation of offers, vessel’s design and the construction itself (these times are proportional to the characteristics of the ship to be built depending on the requirements and specifications of the client). For this reason, even under a scenario where the purchase of a new icebreaker built abroad would have been chosen, the rental of resources for the Antarctic Summer Campaign 2009/2010 and others would have been necessary inevitably .

As a reference, it can be mentioned the Agulhas II icebreaker by the STX firm in Finland. The project had the contract signing date in 2009 and the finalization of the construction in 2012. It had a cost of USD 175 million, being a vessel with characteristics and a performance inferior to those of the new Almirante Irizar icebreaker, in terms of capacities considered important based on the requirements of the Antarctic campaign: bigger crew capacity (100 Agulhas II vs 313 new Irizar), greater fuel supply capacity to the bases (500 m3 Agulhas II vs 650 m3 new Irizar), a 50% higher power (12,000 KW Agulhas II vs 18,000 KW new Irizar),  better capacity in laboratories, just to mention some relevant points.

Therefore, taking as a reference the mentioned vessel contemporary to the Irizar Project in its construction period (although smaller in size and performance than the Irizar), it is obvious that under a scenario of acquisition of a new icebreaker ship abroad, this one would not have been available at least until 2014 (considering 5 years from the design of the specifications until the vessel’s delivery). This would have led to the fact that the first campaign to be carried out with our own vessel would have been 2014/2015 (in an optimistic scenario).

In addition, to carry on the reconstruction in the country also meant a complementary fiscal saving through the tax collection that was generated as a result of the project (invoicing of national companies and employment).

Finally, in relation to the saving of foreign currency and safeguarding reserves, the reconstruction and modernization alternative of the Almirante IrÍzar icebreaker in the country represented a significant saving in foreign currency as the imported content of the work was 36%.