126 crore gold jewellery making park to come up at Kurichi

Coimbatore: The state govt is going to set up an exclusive gold jewellery manufacturing park, first of its kind in India, at the Sidco industrial estate at Kurichi. To start with, more than 400 jewellery making units will be set up in phase-I of the project.

The project was first announced by the DMK govt more than a decade ago. Then, it was the turn of the AIADMK govt. Finally, the DMK govt has taken up the project.

MSME minister T M Anbarasan on Monday conducted a meeting with 19 jewellery manufacturers and goldsmith associations in Coimbatore at the Codissia trade fair complex to discuss the project.

"The detailed project report is in the final stage. The park will be constructed in two phases at a cost of 126 crore," said Anbarasan. According to him, the park would come up on 2.46 acres at the Sidco industrial estate at Kurichi. "The construction area will be 8.57 lakh sqft. The park will house jewellery making units and allied workshops, 3D printing and laser cutting facilities, a hallmark quality testing room, a security vault, an exhibition hall, a conference hall, a training centre, and state-of-the-art monitoring facilities."

The minister said the project would be completed in 18 months from the date of commencement.

The park would house three categories of jewellery making units based on the space allocation - 500sqft (type A), 200sqft (type B) and 100sqft (type C). In phase I, 28 type A units, 72 type B units and 316 type C units would be constructed. In addition, parking facilities to accommodate 12 trucks or heavy vehicles, 21 cars and 12,00 two-wheelers have also been proposed. In phase II, 315 type B units and 2,500 type C units would be set up.

Meanwhile, representatives of jewellery manufacturers and goldsmith associations presented various suggestions, including the ones pertaining to installation of rooftop solar at the park and office spaces, and requested a mechanism to filter the flour gold within the units and prevent it from being washed away. The minister agreed to take note and work on the feasibility.

Among other things, the facility would have a semi-open food court on the terrace that could accommodate 400-500 people at a time. Security features would include biometrics, screening on every floor, CCTV cameras at every entrance and double lock features with two-step verification for the vault.

At the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Small Industries Development Corporation (Sidco) and the Scientific and Industrial Testing and Research Centre for professional testing, inspection, calibration services and setting up benchmarks for goldsmiths.