GJEPC Inaugurates $2B Jewelry Complex

RAPAPORT... The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) hasbegun building a 21-acre industrial jewelry park it believes will generatenearly $6 billion in annual revenue. The India Jewellery Park in Mumbai will cost approximatelyINR 144.67 billion ($2 billion) to construct over the next few years, and willemploy about 100,000 workers when completed. The project will enhancemanufacturing, investment, export growth and the overall economic developmentof the Maharashtra region and India as a whole, the GJEPC said last week. "We want to double our merchandise exports from $500 billionto $1 trillion, and the gem and jewelry business will have a significant roleto play in this endeavor," said Suresh Prabhu, India's minister of commerce andindustry and civil aviation. The complex will include 2,400 units in varying sizes fordifferent businesses, as well as spaces catering to internationalrepresentatives. It will also feature on-site housing and a single developmentoffice where businesses can receive all their necessary permissions. There is also the potential to build Mumbai's first gem andjewelry university in the park, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisadded. India has been targeting several foreign countries,including Russia, in an effort to bring outside investment to the project. Image: The inauguration of the India Jewellery Park in Mumbai. (GJEPC)