The world’s first non-sky-scrapper Diamond Park’s first face is expected to emerge next month with a lot of international insurance companies and banking institutions among others.
Anthony Licht, head of the world’s trail-blazing Diamond Technology Park ÔÇö along the road to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, told The Sunday Standard that everything is running according to plan and the official opening is expected sometime in November this year.
This is according to project manager, Ryan Machet, who told Engineering News that the project will be managed from Johannesburg by Images 2000.
A project management company, Images 2000 was established by architect Tickey Klawansky and Machet in 2000, although a subsidiary has been established in Botswana to help manage the construction of the 35 000-m2 park.
Botswana-based companies were contracted to do the perimeter wall and the civil works.
In terms of costs, Machet states that the company does not have fixed costs for the project, as it has not been determined how many factories will be built on the property and what size these factories will be.
However, the entire project has been estimated at $50-million.
The construction of the first building, including the perimeter fence and the electrical and civil infrastructure, will cost in the region of P25-million.
In terms of the design of the park, Klawansky tells Engineering News that the design of the park is based on a metaphor relating to the process of polishing diamonds. “Each building will contain rough elements, which will be transformed into polished smooth surfaces,” Klawansky said.
“This is an unusual concept and is meant to be suggestive of the diamond industry.” The first building that will be built is the Safdico building.
In terms of the materials that were used to construct the buildings, Klawansky said that the building will have cladding to represent the smooth texture of a polished diamond; there are material edges to the roof canopies, and the roof canopies will have overhangs, which will be symbolic of the clasps on a diamond ring. This new diamond theme park is the brainchild of two South African companies, South African Diamond Corporation (Safdico).
Modeled on similar successful international developments, the concept of Diamond Technology Park is that of a supply-chain cluster that can house the entire diamond industry in a centralised, finite manner.
It is being built in a phased development. The model creates opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprises and tenants will be drawn from the world’s leading diamond companies.
Some of the companies which have already secured offices thereÔÇöoutside the diamond cutting and polishingÔÇöinclude FNBB ATM, Stanbic diamond division, Diamonex, insurance companies and the ministry of minerals the Gemological Institute of the United States (GIA).
