Bhoomi Poojan of the state-of-the-art Mega Common Facility Centre at SEEPZ was held in the presence of Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India, who attended the event virtually; Shri Shyam Jagannathan, Zonal Development Commissioner, SEEPZ, Mumbai; Shri C.P Singh Chauhan, Joint Development Commissioner, SEEPZ; Shri Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC; Shri Colin Shah, Ex-Chairman, GJEPC; Shri Sabyasachi Ray, ED, GJEPC amongst others. The Hon'ble Minister witnessed the entire pooja, including the customary groundbreaking activity performed before commencing the construction for the project.

The Mega CFC is one of the key projects initiated by the SEEPZ Authority under the Ministry of Commerce with GJEPC as the nodal body for implementation, commencement and running of the project to enhance the capacity of the industry in manufacturing products utilizing cutting edge technology provide and impart training and skilling facilities thereof to boost gems and jewellery exports from the country.

In his address about the Mega CFC, Shri Piyush Goyal said, “This public and private partnership that will be completed in a record time of 500 days right from conceptualisation to commissioning will set a new example for the country, and the Mega CFC will be a jewel in the crown of the industry and India. Further, revamping of the SEEPZ will regain the glory of special economic enclave and it will serve as a golden gateway to the markets across India and boost global development. This is the time for action and speed, and I hope that the commendable efforts by the GJEPC and SEEPZ authority will see the Mega CFC project to reach to fruition. If the deadlines are met, the inauguration of the centre will coincide with the 50th anniversary of SEEPZ."

Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said, “The Mega CFC will be an iconic centre with facilities for cutting-edge technology, to support designing and manufacturing of gem and jewellery products. It will enhance the existing quality, productivity, domestic R&D, technological advancement, and cost-competitiveness. It will also include a training centre for imparting skill development courses to further enhance the skills of the artisans in the industry. The platform will help boost gem & jewellery exports from India.”

The facility will provide common manufacturing processes and related services to jewellery units. This will not only help to reduce the cost of production in a big way but also lead to the transfer of know-how amongst these units, thereby providing a competitive advantage to them. The centre will provide access to a common pool of high-end capital-intensive state-of-art machines. It will provide a wide spectrum of ancillary services such as CAD CAM, electroplating, fire assaying, manufacturing, 3D metal printing, etc. along with providing consultancy, R&D and training. Mega CFC facilities will be made available at a reasonable rate not only to SEEPZ-SEZ units but also to factories outside the zone which will improve the output in terms of quality, productivity and yield of the finished jewellery.

Shri Shyam Jagannathan, Development Commissioner, SEEPZ and Shri CP Singh Chauhan, Joint Development Commissioner also spoke on the occasion and described how the mega CFC will help to grow the exports of gem & jewellery out of SEZ to more than 15 billion US Dollars from its current output of 7 billion US dollars, in the next few years. Mr Colin Shah, Ex Chairman of GJEPC proposed the vote of thanks and thanked the honourable Minister for his mentoring the advance to of the project to its finality. The Honourable Minister witnessed the ground breaking and religious ceremony that was held for the auspicious occasion.