The world's biggest diamond cutting and polishing centre took a step further to becoming the global diamond trading hub on Sunday with the foundation stone being laid for Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB). SDB is touted to catapult Surat into the league of metro cities of India in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next five years. Chief minister Anandiben Patel, who laid the foundation stone at Khajod, some 15 km from the city , said that SDB would be third smart city after Gujarat International Finance Tech-city (GIFT) and Dholera.
Surat consumes roughly $14 billion of the total $15 billion rough diamonds imported in India every year. These diamonds are routed to Surat via Mumbai which houses Bharat Diamond Bourse, the biggest trading centre for gems and jewellery in India. However, once SDB is operational, city-based diamond polishers will be able to access roughs at their doorstep and at a cheaper cost.
SDB chairman Vallabh Lakhani, said, “Surat processes 90 out of 100 diamonds and the trading takes place from Mumbai. We expect traders from Antwerp, Dubai and Hong Kong to set up offices in SDB.“ SDB, which is the key driver for the proposed Diamond Research and Mercantile City (Dream City), will require an investment of Rs 1.25 lakh crore that will be pooled in by nearly 80 top diamond barons.
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