COBAM Consultancy Unit Completes Economic Impact Study for The Norman Manley International Airports Limited (NMIAL)

Mr Nigel Cooper (3rd from left), Head, Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Leadership (JDSEEL) and immediate past Chairman of the College of Business and Management’s (COBAM) Consultancy Unit,  presents  a copy of a completed consultancy  project commissioned by the Norman Manley International Airports Limited (NMIAL), to Dr. Paul Ivey, Associate Vice President, School of Graduate Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship (SGSRE) at a presentation on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at the offices of the SGSRE, UTech, Jamaica Papine Campus.  Joining in the presentation, team members (from left) who were the consultants on the project: Mr Lloyd Wint, Lecturer, COBAM, Dr. Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh, Head, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ms Sharon Nelson, Senior Lecturer, COBAM, Mr. Courtney Lawes, Project Director, Caribbean Procurement Training and Consultancy Centre (CPTCC), and Mr Prince Graham-Haynes, current Chairman, COBAM’s Consultancy Unit.

The project titled The Norman Manley International Airport Economic Impact Study (Financial Years 2015/16 and 2016/17) done by the COBAM Consultancy Unit was won following a successful competitive bid process.  Mr Cooper noted that the study was a comprehensive project looking closely at all the activities of the NMIAL that generated and/or stimulated economic activity within Jamaica during the two financial years under review. The aim of the study was  to quantify the contribution of the NMIAL to the growth of the national economy across those two financial years. Surveys and interviews were conducted with major stakeholders of the NMIAL, both on- and off-site, including the Planning Institute of Jamaica (P.I.O.J), the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Ministry of Tourism, the Airport Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

Mr Cooper thanked all the team members for their respective inputs in completing the study which has been accepted by the NMIAL Board of Directors.  “It was a very rigorous procedure and we are happy that the NMIAL authorities are pleased with the project, he said.”  He also thanked the team of ten students who assisted with research and data collection for the study.

In accepting the Report, Dr. Ivey underscored the importance of consultancy work to the University’s larger strategic plan of a target of at least $350 M to be earned from consultancies.  “I want to commend the COBAM’s Consultancy team unit as being one of the most active, structured and organized within the University,” he noted, adding that this project which is one of several that the Unit has done, augurs well for the future in terms of the target the University has  set and also for future work by the Unit.

Dr. Ivey further commended the team for advancing UTech, Jamaica’s mission to add value in different spheres of the economy and the society.

End.

Contact:
Michelle Beckford (Mrs.)
Corporate Communications Manager
University of Technology, Jamaica
Telephone: 970-5299
Email: mbeckford@utech.edu.jm