PM Modi to inaugurate Surat Diamond Bourse on December 17

Surat, Nov 21 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly-built Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) building, part of the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City, in Gujarat on December 17, its office-bearer said on Tuesday.

The SDB building is located at Khajod village near Surat city.

A total of 135 diamond trading firms started operations at their offices at the SDB on Tuesday. Of these, 26 diamond traders permanently shifted their offices from Mumbai to SDB, while others were operating from Surat and other parts of Gujarat, SDB's media convener Jayanti Navadiya said in the statement.

PM Modi will inaugurate the bourse on December 17, he said.

On the day of Dussehra, as many as 983 traders took possession of their offices, while 20 to 15 others have been taking possession and performing the rituals every day since then, he said.

Former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel had in February 2015 performed the ground-breaking ceremony of the SDB and DREAM City project.

With 67 lakh square feet of floor space, the SDB is now the world's largest office building having nearly 4,500 diamond trading offices, the release said.

The mega structure, built on a plot of 35.54 acres inside the DREAM City, has nine towers of ground plus 15 floors with office spaces ranging from 300 sq ft to 1 lakh sq ft. PTI COR PJT PD NP