South Korea’s KDT Diamond receives go-ahead for lab-grown diamond unit in Surat

South Korean lab-grown diamond business KDT Diamond has received the go-ahead from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry to set up a lab-grown diamond manufacturing and polishing plant in Surat to increase its manufacturing capacity in accordance with rising demand. 

“We could not meet the demand for lab-grown diamonds, which has increased significantly,” said KDT Diamond’s senior manager Kang Seong-hyuk, KED Global reported. “Once the Indian factory is operational, we will be able to secure sufficient quantities.”
 
The manufacturing unit is part of KDT Diamond’s strategic expansion and will significantly increase its lab-grown diamond production, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council reported on its website. The manufacturing facility will measure 2,000 square metres and it will be constructed in the Surat Special Economic Zone. Construction will commence in November this year and the unit is expected to be completed by March next year.

KDT Diamond’s upcoming facility is projected to produce 36,000 carats of lab-grown diamonds in its first year of operations. The business plans to continue to increase its production capacity post-inauguration and aims to produce 100,000 carats of lab-grown diamonds annually in the near future.
 
For its India operations, KTD Diamond will establish a local subsidiary in the country, the GJEPC reported. The business launched in Seoul, South Korea in 1987 and recently secured a patent for its ‘microwave plasma CVD device for diamond synthesis’.