Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS): A mega 'Common Facility Centre' (CFC) for gems and jewellery will come up at SEEPZ special economic zone in Mumbai with an investment of Rs 70 crore.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal laid the foundation stone for a CFC at the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mumbai.

"The Mega CFC is a dream project worth Rs 70 crore and would be an epicentre of skill training and an important business facilitation centre situated in the heart of the country's significant manufacturing centre for gems and jewellery," said Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

"It will be one of two such facilities (the other being at Surat) which will provide cutting-edge technology for manufacturing and other allied processes of the gem and jewellery sector."

Besides, the Centre will provide skilling and training support to build a competent workforce.

The Indian gems and jewellery industry has the largest skilled workforce of 4.5 million as on date.

The Minister expressed hope that the work of revamping SEEPZ would lead to a gradual reconstruction of entire SEEPZ in next 3 to 5 years.

According to the statement, the mega CFC, will provide common manufacturing processes and related services to jewellery units.

"This will not only help reduce the cost of production in a big way but also lead to the transfer of know-how amongst these units, thereby providing a competitive advantage to them."

"The new facility will also provide access to a common pool of high-end capital-intensive state-of-art machines. It can provide a wide spectrum of ancillary services such as CAD CAM, electroplating, fire assaying, manufacturing and 3D metal printing, along with providing consultancy, R&D and training."