KGK Diamonds, a part of the India headquartered KGK Group, has opened a new diamond cutting and polishing plant at Diamond Technology Park, Gaborone, Botswana, say reports in the Botswana media. The new factory was officially inaugurated by Botswana’s Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila in the presence of Paul Rowley of De Beers and Navrattan Kothari and Sanjay Kothari of KGK Group.

The reports say that KGK Diamonds is now the 22nd De Beers sightholder in Botswana. The new KGK plant is reported to currently employ 90 people and have a capacity to polish diamonds worth an average $1.5 million every month.

While speaking at the inauguration, the minister is quoted as saying that the new factory bears testimony to the strong long-term fundamentals of the diamond industry and provides confidence that the situation will turn around despite the current hard times the industry is facing.

KGK Group chairman, Navrattan Kothari is reported to have said the plant has the latest technology in diamond cutting and polishing. He also stated that the group has full confidence in the potential of Botswana and plans to increase its staff complement from 90 to 150 in the next year, adding that the current turmoil in the diamond industry is a temporary phase, which will pass soon.