The "New York-Interamerican Commerce for Consulting Engineers"
(NYICCE) three-year initiative is designed to develop consulting engineering partnerships
between New York and Latin American engineering firms with expertise in environmental
technologies and transportation infrastructure. The project focus is on NYS' top trading
partners in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
This project was developed jointly by Empire State Development and the American Consulting
Engineers Council-Research & Management Foundation, along with ACEC's New York member
organizations, the Consulting Engineers Council of NYS, Inc. and the New York Association
of Consulting Engineers, Inc., in close cooperation with FEPAC.
The $1.14 million project is supported by a $380,000 three-year grant
from the US Department of Commerce-ITA under the Market Development Cooperator Program,
with cash and in-kind matching funds from New York State ESD ($475,000) and the ACEC-RMF
($285,000).
Responding to consulting engineering firms' requests for support in
building business relationships with Latin American partners, the NYICCE project is also
intended to open new opportunities for providers of environmental and transportation
infrastructure goods and services. Success in developing consulting engineering projects
will also lead to increased business for construction and equipment suppliers.
The NYICCE project has involved intensive market research, a major
symposium, Alliance Access 2000 in February 1997, and training, market preparation and
promotion. Notably, delegations of NYS firms participated in Trade Development Circuits to
Latin America in 1997 and 1998, including: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru in August
1997; Mexico in February 1998 and Venezuela in March 1998. The NYICCE Conference Circuit
on Urban Infrastructure, welcoming Latin American business partners and customers to New
York State, is planned for December 5-11, 1998.
NYICCE outcomes will be measured on the basis of realized project successes, such as
increased services trade between NYS and Latin American consulting engineers, project
development, professional exchanges, strategic alliances and other partnering agreements,
and related business transactions.
Based on NYICCE successes, New York State and Latin American consulting
engineers are forming hemispheric partnerships to foster world class infrastructure
development around the globe.