Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a newly built ₹3,400-crore Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat on December 17. Dubbed as the “world’s largest corporate office hub”, the Diamond Bourse in Surat is positioned to be a global centre for rough and polished diamond trading.
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The Bourse, located in the Khajod locality of Surat, stands as the world’s largest interconnected building, featuring over 4,500 interconnected offices and hosts India’s largest customs clearance house within its premises.
The primary objective behind establishing the bourse is to facilitate the import, export, and trade of diamonds, gems, and jewellery from India. It also aims to provide a modern infrastructure and a global platform for diamond trading, catering to both small and large enterprises, as well as MSMEs involved in diamond production and business, said the Gujarat government in a statement.
The title of the world’s largest office building used to belong to the Pentagon in the United States, boasting a construction of 65 lakh square feet. However, the Diamond Bourse Building, constructed in Surat, Gujarat, has now claimed the title with its expansive 67 lakh square feet, the statement added. In addition to established diamond companies, small entrepreneurs from MSMEs who couldn’t afford offices in Mumbai have also acquired offices in the Diamond Bourse, establishing direct connectivity with international buyers. According to sources, about 135 of the offices within the Bourse have started operations after Diwali.
With the commissioning of the Diamond Bourse, the state government expects Surat’s diamond industry to double its business to ₹4 lakh crore from the current ₹2 lakh crore.
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Bourse features a spacious entrance, reception area, security surveillance and control room, trading hall, self-deposit vault, museum, food zone, bank, customs office, amphitheatre, money transfer desk, travel desk, retail zone, and auction facilities. Multipurpose spaces, including housing, a security control room, and the Diamond Club, have been incorporated. The offices vary in size from 300 square feet to 1,00,000 square feet. The Bourse comprises a total of 9 towers with a ground floor, 15 additional floors, and 2 basements.
The auction house, equipped with Israel’s C4i technology, operates from a central command and control centre, featuring over 4000 CCTVs for polished and rough diamond auctions. The building’s security consists of an advanced hi-tech security system with cameras.
The Bourse is equipped with 131 high-speed lifts, each operating at a speed of 3 meters per second and managed by an advanced destination control system. This ensures a swift three-minute journey for anyone to reach the 16th floor. A significant portion of the Bourse premises, totalling 35.54 acres, dedicate 15 acres exclusively to a garden area following the Panchatatva theme.