Angola aims to process most of the diamonds it mines within its borders by 2027, a move officials say could raise state revenues and expand employment in the sector, Bloomberg reported.

New polishing and cutting facilities are under construction in regions such as Saurimo, the heart of the country’s mining activity. Laureano Receado, a board member of state-owned Endiama, told state-run RNA radio on Thursday that the company was investing in capacity to ensure stones are increasingly finished domestically.

For now, the bulk of Angola’s rough diamonds are shipped abroad, mainly to the United Arab Emirates and Belgium. The government intends to reverse this reliance on foreign markets for processing in the coming years.

Angola is Africa’s second-largest diamond producer and has reserves estimated at 800 million carats, according to Endiama. Receado noted that the Luele mine, among others, will lift national output to at least 17 million carats annually by 2027, compared with about 14 million today.

The initiative comes as African producers confront weakening demand in traditional markets. Sluggish consumption in China and rising competition from lab-grown synthetic stones have pushed governments to seek greater returns from natural resources by keeping more value at home.