Surat Diamond Bourse
Map
General information
StatusOperational
Architectural styleBrutalist
LocationDREAM City, Khajod, Gujarat, India
Coordinates21°6′35″N 72°47′43″E / 21.10972°N 72.79528°E / 21.10972; 72.79528
Groundbreaking16 February 2015[1]
Construction started25 October 2017[2]
Completed26 July 2023[3]
Inaugurated17 December 2023[4]
Cost₹3,200 crore (US$400 million)[5]
ClientDREAM City Company Limited
OwnerGovernment of Gujarat[6]
Height81.9 m (269 ft)
Technical details
Floor count15[7]
Floor area660,000 square metres (7,100,000 sq ft)[7]
Grounds14.38 hectares (35.54 acres)[7]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Manit Rastogi
Sonali Rastogi[8]
Architecture firmMorphogenesis
Website
www.suratdiamondbourse.in

Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) is a diamond trade centre located in DREAM City, Surat, Gujarat, India, designed by the architecture firm Morphogenesis. It is the world's largest diamond trading hub with a floor space of 660,000 square metres (7,100,000 sq ft), as well as the world's largest office building, ahead of The Pentagon.[9][10][11]

History

The SDB project was launched by the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel, after the laying the foundation stone for the construction of the complex, as well as of the Diamond Research and Mercantile City, on 15 February 2015.[12][1] Though the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the construction progress, the pace was increased after restrictions were lifted. The overall structure of the complex was completed in May 2022,[13] and the overall construction was finished on 26 July 2023.[3] It was officially declared as the world's largest office building, surpassing The Pentagon, by the Guinness World Records on 22 August 2023.[10] It was supposed to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2023, but due to some internal works pending, it was delayed, and was inaugurated and opened on 17 December 2023.[14]

Structure

Panchtattva courts between the towers of the SDB complex

The building is located in the core of the Diamond Research and Mercantile City, an upcoming business district. It is spread across 14.38 hectares (35.54 acres) with availability of 61,000 square metres (660,000 square feet) built-up area. The bourse comprises nine interconnected towers, each with 15 floors, accommodating 4,200 offices ranging from 28 square metres (300 square feet) to 700 square metres (7,500 square feet), out of which 2,700 offices are with 28 square metres (300 sq ft) area each in five towers, 900 offices with 46 square metres (500 sq ft) area in one tower, 400 offices with 93 square metres (1,000 sq ft) area in another tower, and two towers offering 350 larger offices exceeding 93 square metres (1,000 sq ft) area. The nine towers are connected with each other by a large, 22 km-long central corridor, with access to services and facilities similar to an airport terminal. There are nine Panchtattva courts in between the nine buildings, created as recreational and green spaces. There are 131 lifts, with a speed of three metres per second. It has a two-level underground parking space, capable of accommodating 4,500 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers. All of the offices are centrally air-conditioned through a chilled water-cooling system. The building provides amenities such as conference halls, multi-purpose halls, restaurants, banks, and retail shops along with security plans. In addition, there is a dedicated custom clearance house for import and export of diamonds, a National Diamond Research Institute (NDRI), an international convention centre, international education facilities, and five-star hotels.[15][14] The complex is a pre-certified green building by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) because of its eco-friendly and sustainabity measures adopted to function itself,[16] and is dubbed as the world's largest corporate building.[9][17]

Reception

The bourse has received a lukewarm reception from diamond traders, as it is located on the outskirts of the city of Surat and has poor connectivity, when compared with the existing Bharat Diamond Bourse, located in the better-connected city of Mumbai.[18] The SDB announced incentives for shifting diamond business to Surat.[19][20] In order to boost connectivity, there needs to be worldwide connectivity with Surat, like the global diamond centres of Antwerp, Chicago and London, in order to establish its dominance out of Mumbai, and let firms enter without hesitation. The Surat Airport has been expanded to an international status, which was also inaugurated on the same day of the SDB's inauguration, and will help to fulfill this target.[21] As of December 2023, out of 4,200 offices, 135 offices have been opened, out of which 26 offices are operated by Mumbai-based diamond firms.[7]

Diamond jewellery mall

The complex also has the "diamond jewellery mall", which is a first in the world. It covers an area of 4,600 square metres (50,000 sq ft) within the SDB, and will host top international brands specialised in diamond jewellery retailing. As part of the mall, the SDB will have 27 diamond jewellery showrooms to provide spaces for the brands. The showrooms will be auctioned by the SDB Administrative Committee.[22]

Customs clearance centre

The complex houses India's largest customs clearance centre, covering an area of 5,600 square metres (60,000 sq ft) The customs office, strategically located in the basement of the SDB, will oversee the export of valuable diamonds to various countries. It will be staffed by 11 officers, including a customs superintendent and inspectors, all sponsored by the SDB diamond bourse committee for the first three years. The customs office hosts many facilities, including a waiting area, two safe deposit vaults, a customs house-clearing (CHA) room, a postal department room, custom officers' cabins, officer cabins, a valuer room, and a conference room. The customs house will inspect and clear diamond parcels for export, and these parcels will then be dispatched to the secure vault at Surat Airport for direct export to international destinations. However, due to the lack of direct international air connectivity to key destinations like New York and Antwerp from Surat Airport, the diamond parcels will still be sent to Mumbai for export, once cleared by the SDB customs office. As of December 2023, according to the SDB officials, the final approval from the Delhi customs headquarters is pending. Once granted, the SDB's customs house will be equipped with an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system for efficient tracking of diamond imports and exports, thus further streamlining the process for the rising diamond industry of Surat.[23]

DREAM City

See also: Diamond Research and Mercantile City

The potential of Surat's diamond industry has inspired the conceptualisation of the Diamond Research and Mercantile City (DREAM City). With a core objective of improving the trading facilities of the diamond industry (forward and backward integration), this smart city project, as part of the Smart Cities Mission, covers an area of 683 hectares (1,690 acres), on NH-53, close to the Surat international exhibition and convention centre, and at a distance of 3 km (1.9 mi) from the airport. The SDB is located at the centre of the upcoming city, thus making its location advantageous by staying close to the coast and to global markets, like the Middle Eastern countries of the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Qatar, Oman, etc.[24][15]

Environmental protection and sustainability measures

With a focus on sustainability, the SDB minimizes its environmental impact by adhering to the principles of Panchtattva, aligning with the five elements of nature. The building consumes 50% less energy by using natural lighting systems, achieving a remarkable 45 kWh/sq.m./yr compared to the industry green benchmarks of 110 kWh/sq.m./yr. as per Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), thus earning it the prestigious Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Platinum rating. It features one of the world’s largest radiant cooling systems. A combination of thermal mass and porosity in relevant areas results in low external heat gains and lower cooling loads. Hybrid climate systems integrate passive strategies for natural ventilation with energy-efficient mechanical cooling. The central spine flares into vertical fins to funnel low-intensity winds using the Venturi effect, while staggered atria allow for the escape of hot air through the stack effect, thereby maintaining a pleasant microclimate, or interior temperature. The radiant cooling systems cool the interiors by an energy-efficient system, that uses chilled water on the floors and ceilings. The rooftop solar project executed for SDB by the Ahmedabad-based startup, URON Energy, is one of the most unique and is one of the highest solar energy-generating rooftop solar projects in the world, with some very rare and ground-breaking features, such as:

Other features such as sustainable waste disposal systems have been set up, and there is adequate green area in the SDB's premises in order to make the premises eco-friendly and to promote afforestation.[25][16]

Connectivity

The SDB is connected to DREAM City by a number of transportation options, as the core of the city, including:

In addition to these transportation options, there are also plans to build a skywalk that will connect the SDB to the Dream City Convention Centre. The skywalk will provide a pedestrian-friendly connection between the two facilities.[26]

Connectivity between the SDB and DREAM City:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Gujarat Chief Minister Lays Foundation Stone of 'DREAM City' in Surat". NDTV. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Construction of Surat Diamond Bourse begins". The Times of India. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Ravenscroft, Tom (26 July 2023). "Morphogenesis completes world's largest office building in India". Dezeen. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  4. ^ Langa, Mahesh (17 December 2023). "PM Modi inaugurates Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Surat Diamond Bourse: 4500 offices, 70 lakh sq ft area, 130 elevators, 22 km passage, inside the world's largest office building". The Economic Times. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  6. ^ Ghosal, Sutanuka (11 August 2014). "Seeking membership: Global players keen to join Surat Diamond Bourse". The Economic Times.
  7. ^ a b c d "Inside Surat Diamond Bourse, 'world's largest workspace', inaugurated by PM Modi". Firstpost. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  8. ^ Swaminathan, Sneha (17 December 2023). "Exclusive: Meet the architects of Surat Diamond Bourse, world's largest office, surpassing US Pentagon". WION. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b Holland, Oscar (18 July 2023). "The world's new largest office building is bigger than the Pentagon". CNN. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Surat Diamond Bourse surpasses the Pentagon as world's largest office building". Guinness World Records. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ "PM Modi Inaugurates Surat Diamond Bourse, World's Largest Office, in Gujarat". News18. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  12. ^ Tiwari, Arun; Yagnik, Kamlesh (24 January 2022). Diamonds are forever so are Morals: Autobiography of Govind Dholakia. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-91149-89-5. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Surat Diamond hub to become operational by November". Financial Express. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Surat Diamond Bourse, world's largest office building, inaugurated by PM Modi; top 10 facts you shouldn't miss". The Times of India. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  15. ^ a b "The Metro system for Growing & Developing Surat". Metro Rail News. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  16. ^ a b "URON's Sustainable Touch: Solar for the World's Largest Office Building, The Surat Diamond Bourse, India's Pride". Business Wire India. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  17. ^ Paleja, Ameya (18 July 2023). "Pentagon is surpassed by Indian diamond trading hub as world's largest office". interestingengineering.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Surat diamond bourse awaits Mumbai glitter". 30 May 2023. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Surat Diamond Bourse rolls out more incentives to Mumbai firms for shifting to Surat". DeshGujarat. 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  20. ^ "The diamond war is here, and Mumbai is losing it". Mid-day. 18 November 2022. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  21. ^ "PM Modi inaugurates new terminal at Surat airport". The Economic Times. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  22. ^ Bharat Mehta, Yagnesh (6 December 2023). "SDB to have first-of-its-kind jewellery mall". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Surat Diamond Bourse houses India's largest Customs Clearance Center". India Shipping News. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  24. ^ "'DREAM City' in diamond capital". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022.
  25. ^ Kshatriya, Dilip Singh (17 December 2023). "Our challenge was to accommodate over 65,000 people': Designer of Surat Diamond Bourse". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Surat Diamond Bourse Connectivity" (PDF). www.suratdiamondbourse.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.


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