LUANDA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Angola strives to increase its diamond cutting capacities, the executive secretary of the National Kimberley Process Commission, Estanislau Buio, said on Wednesday.

The country now cuts less than five percent of the diamonds it produces due to the lack of enough local diamond cutting factories, Buio said in a seminar on "Angola's contribution in the Kimberley Process certification system and the ongoing reforms."

To uplift cutting capacity and increase the value of Angolan diamonds, the country is building the Saurimo Diamond Development Pole located in the mining province of Lunda Sul.

According to him, a diamond development hub, incorporating cutting factories, offices, training centers and public and private sector companies, is expected to be inaugurated this year in Lunda Sul. The hub aims to stimulate growth and take advantage of the potential of the diamond sub-sector.

The official said the existing four cutting factories in the country are unable to transform the 20 percent production allocated by the Code of Policy for Commercialization of Diamonds.

Buio underscored that Angola would earn more if half or most of the production were processed locally.

"As long as there is not enough cutting capacity in the country, we still have to export the rough diamond," Buio said.

With a production capacity of more than 8 million carats per year, Angola is the world's fifth biggest producer of diamonds. Enditem

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