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Revolutionizing the Local Industry |
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The New Jeweler Staff Report The young Angolan, a night student of law and diamond evaluation during the day, lives in the city of Saurimo, in a region responsible for the production of more than 90 percent of the diamonds produced in the country. “My dream, like any young person who excels in his personal development, was to have his first job at 18 years old. Fortunately, although it was difficult to pass the candidate selection competition, I made it and here I am. Hard working and committed with my functions in the beginning it was very difficult, but today I can say that I already know the anatomy of diamonds”, says Rahiana Lage. Angola is currently training 35 students, from the group of Rahiana Berenice Augusto Lage in a temporary training center in diamond evaluation and cutting, with another 15 being trained in India to reinforce the strength of diamond cutters of the Indian multinational KGK. When this small group finishes the training, they will work at KGK diamond factory which is under construction in the Development Diamond Hub of Saurimo. Like KGK, other international companies believe in the vitality of the new diamond cutting hub under construction in the country, including Kapu Gems, Gescorp and Stardiam. “We are also committed to the Pole, because we believe in its potential,” says Zaveri Kashyap , production director at Kapu Gems. “We understand that the effort of Angola in operating at this time should be valued”, reinforces Zaveri Kashyap. As a primary producer of diamonds, Angolais committed to increasing its diamond cutting capacity, to stop be ing mostly an exporter of rough diamonds. In this sense, the country is creating a new ecosystem, with the construction of the Saurimo Diamond Development Hub, in an initial investment of 77 million US dollars fully invested by the National Diamond Marketing Company of Angola (SODIAM EP), the local public company. The hub is being developed in the east of the country, in one of the eighteen provinces that make up the administrative division of Angola, Lunda Sul, which is about 1,000 kms from Luanda, the country's capital, if taken by road. The Saurimo Diamond Development Hub is now consolidating itself as a space whose main objective is to bring together companies linked to the diamond cutting sector, with a focus on the diamond value chain, offering an adequate and necessary infrastructure for the promotion and stimulation of the development of this activity. This Hub combines, with the aforementioned infrastructure, a strategic location in the city of Saurimo, located north of the city's urban core, approximately 2.5km from the Muangueji River and about 25km south of the mine facilities of CATOCA, with an area of 305,185.74m². It is divided into three main areas, namely: • Commercial Area – which constitutes a public access center with stores, restaurants, banks, tax offices, offices, a convention center and two education and professional training centers • Industrial Area – with restricted access, with reinforced security and composed of 26 lots of different dimensions destined to the implantation of diamond cutting factories and some industries, and service providers in the mining sector • Reserved Area for Hybrid Power Plant – (solar + thermal) in order to make the enterprise autonomous in terms of energy supply. In the industrial area, a large-scale diamond cutting factory will be integrated and another four will have 750m² industrial buildings for lease, where three cutting factories and a training center for diamond cutting and cutting will be built. In the remaining 12 lots in the industrial area, other cutting factories may be integrated and, eventually, other industrial undertakings inherent to the diamond industry. Supported by SODIAM E.P, investors are expected to see in this new integrated business ecosystem an opportunity to implement new and promising projects across the entire dimension of the diamond sector. However, last May, the Saurimo Diamond Development Hub of the ecosystem was visited by entrepreneurs from the Antwerp World Diamond Council (AWDC). In this Hub, it can be installed Angolan and foreign investors, public and private companies, companies operating in the services sector for the mining industry can compete at the Pole, simply by submitting a letter of intent to SODIAM EP, expressing interest in leasing or acquiring a space at the Hub, with the following additional information: activity you want to develop, area in which you want to establish the activity (commercial or industrial), size/characteristics of the space you need, jobs to be created and investment value. Potential investors must, however, have legal and up-to-date company documents (commercial certificate, tax identification number, commercial permit and others) and a business plan. The Angolan authorities have also created an incentive system, which in cludes, among others, the reduction/exemption of import duties on raw materials, equipment and other inputs; reduction/exemption of export taxes for the products produced there, incentives aligned with the Free Zones regime of the space in which the Hub is being implemented; ease in obtaining work visas and guaranteed supply of raw material (raw diamond) in the case of cutting plants. This means that Angola, its Government and SODIAM E.P. are in fact eager in the creation of solutions that are capable of attracting foreign investors which are recognized as being valued in the diamond field adding more value and dimension. This guarantee assures Rahiana Berenice Augusto Lage's fascination for diamonds and motivates Zaveri Kashyap's company to invest, that will allow the hub to increase its contribution in the value chain, exporting rough and cut diamonds |
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While infrastructure works are underway,
Saurimo Diamond Development Hub
implements a national strategy in the field that
will completely change the history of local Industry. The
value of the Angolan diamond chain will be reinforced, and
the population will benefit in the creation of direct and
indirect jobs.