Save E-mail

Send this URL to a friend:

* - Denotes a required field.
Your Name*
Your Email Address*
Friend's Name*
Friend's Email Address*
Subject*
Message*

Print

Antwerp--Diamond leaders here unveiled a “master plan” on Wednesday designed to preserve and strengthen the city’s position as a diamond trading hub through 2020.

According to a news release from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the goal of the plan is to help the city, which has been a major diamond trading hub for 550 years, transition from its “traditionally rigid” stance to a more agile and strategically driven business.

As it stands now, 80 percent of the world’s rough diamonds and 50 percent of polished pass through Antwerp. The industry’s annual turnover is more than $55 billion and the diamond industry provides more than 34,000 jobs in Flanders. In addition, diamonds are the No. 1 export from Belgium into the countries of China, India and Russia.

Antwerp wants to grow as a diamond trading center, cast itself as a center for diamond knowledge, focus on education and transparency, create jobs and focus on community integration.

The plan launched Wednesday in Antwerp with the support of the province’s governor, Cathy Berx, after a series of meetings at the Antwerp Provinciehuis that “gave voice to frustrations and fears within the industry,” the AWDC said. The meetings led to the formation of a steering committee that crafted the master plan.

According to the AWDC, diamond leaders in Antwerp expect that 40 to 50 percent of the master plan will be initiated before the end of 2012.

Also on Wednesday in Antwerp, Berx officially opened the MAS Diamond Pavilion, a joint venture between the AWDC and the Provincial Diamond Museum. The pavilion gives the history of Antwerp in the world diamond trade and shows who was, and is, active in the industry. It is a meeting space that is open to everyone from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.