Brazil’s Azul airline has won $200 million in financing for servicing the engines of its Embraer E195 fleet through the U.S government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). With the award, Azul becomes the first airline in the world to obtain such OPIC financing.

"This new source of financing will help us to optimize our liquidity position and the engine maintenance process of our Embraer jets, further strengthening our agreement with GE Celma,” said Azul finance vice president Alex Malfitani in a statement. GE Aviation’s GE Celma subsidiary, located in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, provides maintenance for GE engines and assembles CF34 engines for Embraer aircraft. In 2017 GE Celma ranked as the state’s largest services exporter and stands as one of the nation’s largest.

Azul ranks as Brazil’s third-largest airline by passengers carried, and served 220 destinations at the end of last year, more than any other airline in the country, from its major hub at Campinas’s Viracopos airport. Its fleet includes Embraer regional jets, ATR turboprops, and Airbus A330s and A320s. It has made a bid to increase its presence at major airports with a non-binding offer to take over 70 slot pairs and 30 A320s from troubled rival Avianca Brasil, now in bankruptcy protection.

OPIC is a self-sustaining U.S. government agency that helps American businesses invest in emerging markets.