Airport a must for gem park's success: Sanghvi

The success of the proposed gem and jewellery park in Surat will depend on setting up of an airport and availability of trained manpower, traders in the sector say.

The gem and jewellery park is planned by Gujarat Hira Bourse (GHB) at Ichhapore in Surat.

GHB and the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation are very close to inking a deal for sale of 40 lakh sq mt of land in Ichhapore for Rs 45 crore. GHB president Chandrakant Sanghvi said, "We are hopeful that possession of the land will be handed over to us at the earliest. We plan to complete the jewellery park within four years."

"Several businessmen from Surat and even from other cities have expressed willingness to purchase plots and set up units. So there is no doubt about the success of the jewellery park," Sanghvi said.

A leading diamond trader said, "The fact that work on the airport is yet to start properly is a cause of worry. The way things are going, it appears as if it will take some more years before the airport becomes functional."

"Once the work on the jewellery park starts, it should be ready in less than five years. If Surat does not have a functional airport by then, the entire exercise will be futile. We will have to maintain offices in Mumbai for our foreign clients," he said.

About 500 diamond cutting and polishing units would be set up in the jewellery park. Each of these units would require at least 100 to 150 polishers and other workers, which means there would be an initial requirement of a trained workforce of 50,000 to 75,000. There are not many institutions that provide training related to the diamond industry. The Indian Diamond Institute in Surat cannot train such a large workforce in five years.

Sanghvi said the problem can be solved if courses related to diamond polishing and cutting are started in educational institutions.

Sanghvi said, "The government should start courses related to the diamond industry in the Industrial Training Institutes and colleges. This will help the diamond industry and create employment opportunities."