West Bengal's gems and jewellery park may face cost escalation

By PTI

 

KOLKATA: The gems and jewellery park in Howrah district of West Bengal may face cost escalation, state Finance Minister Amit Mitra has said. 

 

"The previous estimate for gems and jewellery park was Rs 53.8 crore. There could be cost escalation from previous estimates but we are prepared for it as it is an important project for the state," he said last evening at Gems and Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) event. 

 

The final cost to build the park spread over 2.5 lakh square feet in two buildings might go up to Rs 60-70 crore. This is a Centre assisted project with Rs 29.6 crore funding. 

 

Mitra said half the space of the park -- 1.25 lakh square feet -- has been already booked by 32 companies and the government will offer two floors to accommodate GJSCI training centre 'Dakhagraam'. 

The gems and jewellery industry would need about 6.8 million additional workforce by 2022 to meet the demand of the industry. 

 

The Manikanchan gems and jewellery special economic zone in Kolkata reported 28.34 per cent growth in exports to Rs 11,571 crore in 2012-13.