Surat Diamond Bourse pips Pentagon, is one of largest office bldgs

SURAT: That it shines nine out of 11 diamonds polished in the world is already a fact, but that the Diamond City has added a new dimension to its glittering prospects by overthrowing the Pentagon as one of the largest office buildings in the world is a glorious chapter scripted in the city's realty sector.
Welcome to Surat, home to the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), which boasts a massive 67,28,604 square feet built-up area that is even more than the US' current largest office building Pentagon with 66,73,624 sq ft area.
The glory does not end there as the massive structure is also certified with a platinum green building certificate by the Indian Green Building Council.
"Ninety per cent of the world's diamonds are manufactured in Surat but for trading, we have to go to Mumbai. We needed infrastructure as a trading hub. It is the biggest office building in the world and we have planned keeping future growth in mind," said Vallabh Lakhani, chairman of the SDB core committee.
SDB gradually started taking shape after forming a company to promote non-profit objectives in December 2017 and despite two years lost to Covid-19 induced pandemic delays, the project has been completed recently.
Each floor of the nine 15-storeyed towers is connected through spine corridors and has 4,500 offices. The total cost of the project is Rs 3,200 crore spread across 35.54 acre land at the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City.
SDB is also a certified green building
SDB is a pre-certified platinum green building and despite it being the largest, the building design is such that a person can reach his office in a maximum of six minutes from the entry point," said Mahesh Gadhvi, CEO of SDB.
"To make Surat the hub of diamond trading, an office of this size has been developed. Along with being the largest office building in the world, SDB has the best services and security, which is a prerequisite for any diamond business," said Mathur Savani, a core committee member.
Lakhani said the cost of living and commuting is much less for diamond workers in Surat as compared to Mumbai. SDB has started offering possession of the offices to its owners for furniture work.