NADB and CIDA Collaborate in Tex-Mex
Through Eastcan Geomatics

A Halifax-based company has paved the way to a new method of doing business in one of North America's most dynamic regional markets—Northern Mexico. Funded by CIDA and the North American Development Bank (NADB), Eastcan Geomatics' feasibility study in Matamoros, on the Gulf of Mexico, is the first collaboration of its kind between the Canadian Government and the NADB. At the same time, Eastcan is demonstrating what Canada does best: optimizing resources, developing world class technologies and putting them to use in parts of the globe that need them most.

Rapid growth in the Tex-Mex region has meant an increased requirement for infrastructure of all types—and expanding opportunities for geomatic firms such as Eastcan. As part of the MacDonnell Group, Eastcan is able to provide clients with access to over 120 professionals in the engineering, environmental, management, digital mapping, management consulting and geographic information technology fields.

Late in 2001, CIDA selected Eastcan to conduct feasibility studies for the development of Geographic Information System (GIS) for new water and waste water utilities in the municipalities of Matamoros and Juarez. The Matamoros project was a landmark in that it represented the first time that the NADB worked formally with the Canadian government to enhance the institutional development of public utility systems in the U.S.-Mexico border region. NADB, created under the auspices of NAFTA, was established and financed in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border. "We must highlight the significance of Canada's participation in the improvement of Matamoros' water and waste water systems," says Raúl Rodríguez, NADB Managing Director. "This project demonstrates the importance of infrastructure development along the U.S.-Mexico border to Canada's own trade and commerce interests."

Support from CIDA, NADB and the Canadian Consulate

As CEO John Duff explains, Eastcan is part of a unique public and private sector coalition acting in concert to employ Canadian capability in a new market. "The Canadian Consulate General in Dallas helped us develop a long-term business strategy for Matamoros while NADB staff matched our technology and know-how with Canadian, U.S. and Mexican financial and public sector resources," says Duff. "The level of cooperation among the three NAFTA governments to resolve common environmental problems is impressive," adds Salvador Treviño, General Manager of the Junta de Aguas y Drenaje, Matamoros' water and waste water utility. "This study shows that technology can help to improve the quality of life of our customers."

Eastcan's team assisted Matamoros in every aspect of its future planning efforts by reviewing existing data that in turn evaluates the municipality's needs and capacity to receive, manage and use the data once it is produced. The study focused on what would be required for the development of a GIS system for Matamoros to build and manage its water and waste water infrastructure.

In Juarez, northwest of Matamoros on the New Mexico border, the CIDA-funded feasibility study supported the same type of hard infrastructure development but included solid waste facilities as well as socio-economic parameters. "CIDA has taken a leadership approach to sustainability and corporate development with its continuous support and promotion of Canadian firms such as Eastcan that have the expertise to aid municipalities like Juarez," says MacDonnell Group president Ralston MacDonnell. "This project will support good planning in the city for decades to come."

Newest project in Jamaica

In its most recent IFI-funded venture, last August Eastcan finalized the details of a mapping contract in Jamaica, for which it beat out four competitors in an international bid. The $450,000 project, funded by the World Bank, is part of the Jamaican government's initiative to make critical upgrades to the country's public sector property information infrastructure. Eastcan's work entails photoscanning 3,500 maps of Kingston and Saint Andrews and accurately georeferencing them using Ikonos Imagery. Duff says this application of the latest in geomatics technology is a milestone for the industry. "This project will redefine the way we compile cadastral data for municipalities around the world. It will bring the two major population centres in Jamaica from the cumbersome manual method of mapping and maintaining property records to the digital world where updates are fast, accurate and easily accessible."

Eastcan's roots in aerial photography and digital mapping go back to 1959. The company was one of the first in the world to make advanced U.S. military technology usable for civilian applications such as Enhanced 911, highway planning and solid waste management. Well established in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin American markets, where it has carried out some 3,500 projects, Eastcan has recently added India to the list of countries in which it is doing business. The firm's international success in regions such as North Mexico demonstrates how together, the efforts of Canada's trade commissioners, CIDA and the IFIs can help Canadian businesses to capitalize on infrastructure development opportunities while providing sustainable solutions to social and environmental issues. It also highlights the effectiveness of Canada's unique public-private approach to export development worldwide.

For more information, contact:

Export Financing Division, DFAIT
Tel.: (613) 995-7251
E-mail: ifinet@international.gc.ca

John Duff, CEO
Senior Project Manager
Eastcan Geomatics Limited
A subsidiary of CBCL Limited
Tel.: (902) 429-7901
E-mail: jduff@cbcl.ca
Internet: www.cbcl.ca

Publication date: 2002/10/28