January 22, 1998
(Executive Council)

13 agreements signed in four countries for 1998 Trade Team Canada Mission

Premier Brian Tobin announced today that seven agreements were signed in Chile, bringing the total number of agreements signed by Newfoundland and Labrador companies and organizations during the four-country 1998 Trade Team Canada mission to 13.

Premier Tobin noted that Chile was the most productive country for Newfoundland and Labrador due to ongoing efforts to establish business contacts prior to the 1998 Team Canada Trade mission. He said: "Chile has been extremely attractive for us in terms of generating new business. There have numerous attempts to establish business contacts here, including provincial government-led trade missions trips and separate visits by individual company representatives. That groundwork has paid off and is reflected by the number of participants from Newfoundland and Labrador concluding agreement-signings here today, of which I am confident will spin-off to additional business between our province and Chile in the future."

Highland Homes of Cottlesville and Argomanzun Limitada of Timuco, Chile, have agreed to proceed with the development of Primavera, a 1,000-home satellite town located outside the city of Temuco. Highland Homes will provide Canadian-crafted homes for this housing development and assist in the financing and administration of the project. The overall project value is estimated at $82 million CDN and construction will span a six-year period. The community will follow New Urbanist principles and offer a mixed income range of quality construction homes.

Genesis Organic Inc. signed a joint venture agreement with Fundacion Chile, a successful technological and industrial incubator that facilitates technology transfer and new business development. Under the agreement, both parties will work together to develop an organic waste management facility in Chile, utilizing a transfer of the Genesis Canadian technology. The joint venture partners plan to compost wastewood bark from the forest industry and fish waste from fishing and aquaculture operations. The product will be sold into the horticulture and emerging home gardening marketplace in South America. The partners plan to develop a composting site of some 20 acres with a processing and bagging capacity of 36 million litres of finished product per year. In addition to the transfer of Canadian technology to Chile and the positive environmental impact, other benefits will be realized in terms of employment generation, in both Chile and Canada. Genesis Organic Inc. operates the largest dedicated composting site in Canada at Wild Cove, Newfoundland.

FGA Consulting Engineers signed an exclusive Memorandum of Understanding agreement with STI Ingeneria Anticorrosiva, Sociedad Comercial Santa Teresa Ltda. of Santiago, to provide inspection and non-destructive testing services as well as transfer technology in fields of welding engineering and quality assurance. STI Ingeneria Anticorrosiva are designers of anti-corrosion coating systems for industrial applications in industries such as pulp and paper, mining and petroleum refining. FGA specializes in the provision of structural, civil and welding engineering, non-destructive testing, materials engineering and quality assurance services. Through the agreement, both companies will utilize their expertise in the immediate targeting of several major Chilean projects.

Memorial University of Newfoundland, in collaboration with a consortium of public and private sector agencies for distance education in Newfoundland and Labrador, (TETRA, the Open Learning Information Network, and Operation ONLINE), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Universidad Santo Tomas de Chile. The purpose of the agreement is to adopt and develop distance education programs and delivery management developed in Newfoundland and Labrador that will be implemented by Universidad Santo Tomas in Chile and Latin America. In partnership with private sector partners and the College of the North Atlantic, Memorial University offers special areas of interest including training in technical support for health services. The delivery mechanism for distance technologies will be developed in Chile and other parts of Latin America.

The College of the North Atlantic signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Universidad Santo Tomas de Chile. The purpose of the agreement is for both parties to collaborate on several joint initiatives including: participation in development projects in South America that are funded by the World Bank and other international financial institutions; raising the standards of technical programs at UST's technical institutes to the standards applicable to CNA's technical programs; co-marketing and co-delivery of programs; joint development of distance education capability; private sector partnerships; and use of information technology to develop business opportunties. The project represents significant potential for the College of the North Atlantic and its private sector partners to export educational products and services to South America.

The Department of Industry, Trade and Technology of Newfoundland and Labrador signed a cooperation agreement with the Chilean Federation of Industry, known as SOFOFA. The purpose of the agreement is to work together to strengthen the exchange of goods, services and investments between Newfoundland and Labrador and Chile. SOFOFA is a non-profit federation founded in 1883, grouping together more than 2,000 companies, 24 business associations and seven regional subsidiaries across Chile.

The Department of Education of the province signed a cooperation agreement with Universidad Santo Tomas de Chile. Both parties will work together to promote joint opportunities between educational institutions in both regions including the fields of distance education and technical programs related to health, environment and other related sectors.

Contact: Heidi Bonnell, (709) 729-3960, or John Doody, (709) 729-0050.