PM to inaugurate World's largest office- Surat Diamond Bourse

A new office complex that surpasses the Pentagon in size is set to officially open on Sunday in Surat, cementing the city's ambitions to become the world's diamond capital.The Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat, which covers a constructed area of 6.7 million square feet (620,000 square meters), became the world's largest office complex when it was completed in July for 32 billion rupees ($384 million). The US landmark opened in 1943 and has an area of 6.5 million square feet.PM Modi to inaugurate world's largest corporate office, Surat Diamond Bourse on Sunday.
The Diamond Bourse is the world's largest interconnected building, as it houses over4,500 interconnected offices.The building has the capacity to house 4,200 traders from 175 countries who will come to Surat to buy polished diamonds. Around 1.5 lakh people will get employment from the trading facility, as diamond buyers from all corners of the world will get a global platform to trade at Surat.The new complex is located inside the Diamond Research and Mercantile City, a business district modelled after the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or Gift City. It has nine 15-story towers and about 4,700 offices. About 130 offices are already in use, according to Nagjibhai Sakariya, president of the Surat Diamond Bourse.
"Surat is a major cutting center and a diamond exchange is long overdue," said Eli Izhakoff, honorary president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. "Dealers from all over the world can do business from a secured and centralized place with confidence."Historically, Surat was one of the most important trade links between India and countries such as Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal because of its proximity to the Arabian Sea coast. It was supplanted by the rise of Bombay as a port in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its diamond industry started operations about six decades ago and picked up pace following the discovery of large deposits in Australia and India's economic reforms in the 1990s. Mumbai, about 280 kilometers (174 miles) south, remained the trading hub due to its better connectivity with the world.

(Ira Singh, Asstt Editor, Gandhinagar)