"India has built the world\u2019s biggest office in hopes of dominating diamond trade"

" India has built the world\u2019s biggest office in hopes of dominating diamond trade \r\n\r\nA new office complex that surpasses the Pentagon in size has officially opened in Surat, cementing the western Indian city\u2019s ambitions to become the world\u2019s diamond capital.\r\n\r\nThe Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat state, which covers a constructed area of 6.7 million square feet (sq ft) or 620,000 square metres (sq m), became\u00a0the world\u2019s largest office complex when it was completed in July at a cost of 32 billion rupees (S$514.1 million). The US landmark, which opened in 1943, has an area of 6.5 million sq ft.\r\n\r\nThe complex in Surat will be inaugurated by Narendra Modi, marking another politically symbolic win for the prime minister in his home state as he seeks support for a third term in elections next year. The bourse\u2019s opening will further build on other efforts by Modi\u2019s administration to boost Gujarat economically, for example by cutting red tape to make it more business friendly.\r\n\r\nWhile Mumbai has\u00a0long been the centre of exports for diamonds in India, Surat, also known as \u201cDiamond City\u201d,\u00a0dominates in processing of the precious gems, with about 90 per cent of\u00a0the world\u2019s rough diamonds cut and polished there before they are sold to buyers in places\u00a0such as the US and China. The new bourse aims to centralise the industry under one roof.\r\n\r\n\u201cSurat is a major cutting centre and a diamond exchange is long overdue,\u201d said Eli Izhakoff,\u00a0honorary president of\u00a0the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.\u00a0\u201cDealers from all over the world can do business from a secured and centralised place with confidence.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe new complex is located inside the Diamond Research and Mercantile City, a business district modelled after the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City,\u00a0or\u00a0Gift\u00a0City, another one of Modi\u2019s flagship projects. It\u00a0has nine\u00a015-storey towers and about 4,700 offices. About 130 offices are already in use, according to\u00a0Nagjibhai Sakariya, president of the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB)."

"India has built the world\u2019s biggest office in hopes of dominating diamond trade"

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