Jewelry Park to be set-up at Banglore

All-India Gem and Jewellery Association officers will visit Bangalore on May 17, 2006, with the idea to set up an export-oriented diamond and jewelry park. They will look around for a convenient location and are ready to investment more than Rs. 15,000 corer according to Katta Subramanya Naidu, minister for small industries.

Naidu had met with the Diamond Association President at Mumbai and had discussed the proposal of establishing the park in the state as a Special Economic Zone. The president assured that the association would establish a park, and that the units opened here could produce upwards of Rs. 10,000 crore worth of export quality ornaments and generate 70,000 jobs. On its part, the government would have to provide 200 acres for the purpose in or around Bangalore. The government had been told that the proposed park would comprise a training center for artisans, marketing malls of international standards, and also an export house for diamonds and ornaments.

Naidu also stated that 80% jobs would be earmarked for local people if the project became a reality. The government would ensure jobs for Kannadigas in the units --in compliance with the recommendations of the Sarojini Mahishi report. The government would allot land at the market price on the condition that it should be utilised for industrial purposes and not as a real-estate venture.