Shaw and Its Employees Contribute $250,000 to Asian Tsunami Relief Funds; Company Provides Emergency Response Expertise At No Charge to Aid in Restoration Planning Efforts

BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 2005--The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SGR) today announced a total cash contribution of $250,000 to relief efforts following the devastating tsunami in southern Asia. Since January, when Shaw announced that it would match employee contributions to tsunami relief organizations, employees have contributed $117,000 to various relief agencies for the provision of food, medical supplies and shelter for the tsunami victims. Shaw's additional $133,000 donation will be distributed to the American Red Cross, UNICEF, Oxfam America, Doctors without Borders, Catholic Relief Services and CARE, as these organizations received the majority of contributions from Shaw's employees.

In addition to its cash contribution, a team of emergency response experts from several of Shaw's business lines has visited the tsunami affected areas to provide assistance, at no charge, in the initial assessment and planning for the restoration of the tsunami affected areas.

J.M Bernhard, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Shaw Group Inc., said, "Our world continues to be faced with a tremendous challenge to assist the tsunami victims in restoring order to their lives and their environment. With our worldwide operations, we feel an increased responsibility to make a positive contribution to the global community. I am personally very proud of our employees' commitment to make a difference for those suffering in Southern Asia."

The Shaw Group Inc. is a leading global provider of technology, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation, and facilities management services for government and private sector clients in the power, process, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response markets. A Fortune 500 Company, The Shaw Group is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and employs approximately 18,000 people at its offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.shawgrp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements - 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 website under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements". 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 website at www.shawgrp.com.

CONTACT:
The Shaw Group Inc., Baton Rouge
Chris D. Sammons
225-932-2500

SOURCE: The Shaw Group Inc.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding SHAW GROUP INC's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.