KP govt decides to establish gem processing and export centre

PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to develop gemstone business as a formal export sector and the cluster at the Namak Mandi would be developed in the shape of Gems Processing & Export Centre for this purpose.

“The Gem Export Centre will be redesigned and shifted to a spacious and suitable building equipped with all international standards,” said an official communique.

The decision was taken at a meeting in the committee room of the Industries Department, the Civil Secretariat with Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commerce and Technical Education Abdul Karim Tordher in the chair.

In the meeting, several policy level decisions were taken for the development of the gemstones sector, under which a Gems Processing and Export Centre equipped with advanced facilities for Gemstones will be established in Peshawar.

It was decided in the meeting that with the Federal Export Development Fund, the annual gems show will also be organized in the province, while the representative of EDF assured in the meeting that the availability of facilities in the proposed centre will be provided through the fund.

Speaking on this occasion, the special assistant to the chief minister said that the establishment of a modern gems centre in the province would prove a milestone for the economic development of the country and the province.