Angola Plans $77M Diamond Center

RAPAPORT... Angola is halfway through the construction of a $77 million diamond hub that it hopes will create revenue sources beyond the sale of rough diamonds.The hub is located in Angola's diamond province of Lunda Sul. It will contain a main diamond-cutting facility, a diamond evaluation and training center, and smaller manufacturing plants, Sodiam, Angola's state-owned diamond company, said last week. Sodiam also plans to set up a bourse in the hub, it announced earlier this month."The hub aims to bring together companies related to the mining sector, focusing not only on the diamond value chain, but also in providing adequate and necessary infrastructures for the promotion and development of related activities," the company noted.Sodiam will divide the hub into three main parts. A commercial area, which will be open to the public, will include banks, insurance companies, tax offices, stores, restaurants, a food court, a convention center and a training center. Meanwhile, an industrial zone will contain 26 lots of varying sizes, which will house factories and logistics platforms for the diamond industry. The third section will comprise the main cutting factory.Sodiam expects the hub to be completed by the end of the year.Image: Rough diamonds in a shovel. (Sodiam)