GEMS & JEWELLERY
Gemopolis in Bt10-bn expansion Plan will take 10 years to complete
Gemopolis, Thai-land's first industrial estate for gems and jewellery, plans to invest nearly Bt10 billion in a major expansion.
Suttipong Damrongsakul, assistant managing director of IGS Plc, said work on the project would start next year and take 10 years to finish. It will consist of trade centres, shopping malls, hotels and service centres at a complex four kilometres from Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport. "We will use 600 rai of land to make Gemopolis a one-stop city to serve the growth of tourists from Suvarnabhumi Airport," Suttipong said. The complex will target not only tourists but also people who live nearby and downtown because it takes only 30 minutes to drive from the Silom area. The existing Gemopolis Mall has 19 entrepreneurs, who expect to generate income of about Bt5 billion this year. Following the success of the first phase, the company has invested Bt400 million in building the second phase of a factory shopping mall with 32 units. It is due to open early next year and half of the units have already been reserved. Suttipong added that the company planned to start building the third and fourth phases next year, with 35 units for each phase. The investment is expected to be Bt480 million. Thailand faces strong competition from China and India in the low-end market for gems and jewellery. Gemopolis is trying to push Thai entrepreneurs into the premium market by setting up a training centre to produce highly skilled workers. Currently, Thailand has a revenue of more than Bt100 billion from exporting gems in an industry employing 1.2 million people. However, there is still high demand for more highly trained workers. The company started the Gemopolis Training School with the support of the government and private sectors. It also launched the Gemopolis Business Incubation Centre for Gems Exporters and Manufacturers (Gemopolis BICGEM) with the support of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, with the aim of creating and promoting competitiveness in the global market. IGS hopes the government will support Gemopolis as a hub for gems and jewellery in the world market by provid- ing more privileges from the Board of Investment and extending income-tax exemption to attract more foreign investors to run their businesses in Thailand.
Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul The Nation
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