Surat: Construction work for the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) commenced on 25 Oct with the office-bearers of SDB Diamond Bourse, a company floated for the bourse development participating in the foundation laying ceremony, reports The Times of India.

The SDB Diamond Bourse has awarded the $237mn contract to the Ahmedabad-based PSP Projects Pvt Ltd for constructing the world’s largest diamond bourse at DREAM City.

The project costs around $361mn. The deadline for completing the project has been set for 30 months. There will be 11 iconic towers of 11 floors each, housing more than 4,500 offices of diamond units. The SDB will house facilities like safe deposit vaults, a museum, customs office, money transfer desks, travel desk, retail zone, auction house and a diamond club apart from others.

The SDB chairman Vallabh Patel, who is also the chairman of Kiran Gems, “The project of SDB will be completed by 2020.Most of the offices in the bourse have been booked by the diamantaires of Surat, while some firms from Mumbai, Antwerp, Israel, Hong Kong and Dubai have also taken up space.”