Shaw Subsidiary to Lead Consortium for Hydroelectric Power Plant in Turkey.

Business Editors

BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2002

The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE:SGR) ("Shaw" or "the Company") announced today that its subsidiary, Stone & Webster, Inc., through its Denver Operations Center, has signed a contract for the engineering and design for the Konaktepe Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant in Turkey. The engineering and design phase of the contract, valued at approximately $10 million, represents the first of two phases of the project. Upon completion of the first phase, the Stone & Webster led consortium will negotiate the construction phase of the project which is estimated at between $300 million and $400 million.

Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ("The Ministry") awarded this contract under the umbrella of a Turkish-American bilateral agreement signed on February 26, 1998. The Konaktepe project is the second engineering, design, and construction project awarded under the bilateral agreement.

The Konaktepe project is located on the Munzur River, a tributary of the Euphrates, near Ovacik in the Tunceli Province, in east central Turkey, and is considered by The Ministry to be strategically important to the region. The Ministry hopes that the project will promote area development while at the same time providing a more reliable, environmentally friendly source of electricity to the Province and the surrounding region. The Konaktepe facility will generate 180 megawatts of electricity using a single dam (approximately 100m high), a power tunnel (approximately 15 kilometers long), and a powerhouse with two Francis turbines.

Stone & Webster worked on the first hydroelectric power projects in the United States over 100 years ago. These projects, in many cases, involved the development of innovative technologies and construction techniques and represented the first major hydroelectric developments on many of the nation's major rivers. Since then, Stone & Webster has engineered and constructed over 70 hydroelectric facilities worldwide.

Stone & Webster was involved in more than 30 projects in Turkey over the past 30 years. "Our involvement in the region's power development started in 1965, with the engineering for a transmission system that included the first transmission line crossing of the Bosphorus Straits," said J. M. Bernhard Jr., Shaw's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are hopeful that the completion of the Konaktepe project will create an opportunity for social and economic development of Tunceli Province and Stone & Webster will work closely with our consortium members and The Ministry to make sure that the maximum benefits are achieved for the people of Turkey."

In addition to Stone & Webster as the consortium leader for the Konaktepe project, four other companies comprise the consortium:

-- ATA Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., a Turkish construction firm will be
responsible for the dam and civil construction.

-- Strabag AG, an Austrian construction firm will be responsible for the tunnel
and surge chamber.

-- Soyak Uluslarasi Insaat ve Yatrim A.S., a Turkish construction firm will
assist Strabag AG with the tunnel and surge chamber.

-- VA Tech Hydro GmbH & Co., an Austrian electrical and mechanical equipment
supplier, through its US subsidiaries, VA Tech Voest MCE Corp. and VA Tech Elin
USA Corp., will supply the hydro-mechanical and electrical equipment.

The Shaw Group Inc. is the world's only vertically-integrated provider of complete piping systems and comprehensive engineering, procurement and construction services to the power generation industry. Shaw is the largest supplier of fabricated piping systems in the United States and a leading supplier worldwide, having installed piping systems in power plants with an aggregate generation capacity in excess of 200,000 megawatts. While the majority of Shaw's backlog is attributable to the power generation industry, the Company also does work in the process industries, including petrochemical, chemical and refining, and the environmental and infrastructure sector. The Company currently has offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific; and has more than 13,000 employees. For additional information on The Shaw Group, please visit the Company's web site at www.shawgrp.com.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained herein that are not historical facts (including without limitation statements to the effect that the Company or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," or other similar expressions) and statements related to revenues, earnings, backlog, or other financial information or results are forward-looking statements based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by the Company. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions and are subject to change based upon various factors. Should one or more of such risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. A description of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements can be found in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, reports and on the Company's web-site under the heading "Forward Looking Statement". These documents are also available from the Securities and Exchange Commission or from the Investor Relations department of Shaw. For more information on the company and announcements it makes from time to time on a regional basis visit our web site at www.shawgrp.com.