The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to commence the construction work of the International Gem and Jewellery Trade Center, the Government Information Department said.

" It has been planned to construct the  International Gem and Jewellery Trade Center  in Demuwawatha, Ratnapura by investing the fund of National Gem and Jewellery Authority to enable sellers and buyers to avail all the services and facilitate under one roof, such as independent quality testing services and bank and export services as in Bangkok and Hong Kong which are the leading sales centers for Gem and Jewellery sales in Asia."

"Accordingly, as the first phase of the project, it has been planned to construct a 5 story building with a floor area of 1500 square feet at a cost of Rs. 365 million on a 22 perch extended plot of land in Demuwawatha, Ratnapura and as the second phase of the project it is planned to acquire the adjacent plot of land to the aforementioned plot of land and build a modern building with 14 stories," it said.

Hence, approval has been granted by the Cabinet of Ministers to award the contract of designing and the construction of the proposed building as the first phase of the project as a direct contract for the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau.