Surat Diamond Bourse: The landscaping of the office complex is based on Panchtatva.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the world's largest office, a "one-stop destination" for over 65,000 diamond traders in Gujarat's Surat. The 15-storey building spread across 35 acres of land is bigger than the Pentagon, a large five-sided building in Virginia that serves as the headquarters of the US Department of Defence.
The new complex is located inside the Diamond Research and Mercantile City, a business district modelled after the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or Gift City, another one of Prime Minister Modi's flagship projects.
The building has been designed by Indian architecture firm Morphogenesis following an international design competition.
The landscaping of the office complex is based on the idea of Panchtatva which translates to five elements. The Surat Diamond Bourse will have 4,500 offices for national and international traders.
Speaking to CNN, project's CEO Mahesh Gadhavi said the new building complex will save thousands of people from travelling - sometimes daily - to Mumbai by train to do business.
The complex has a recreational zone and parking area spread across 20 lakh square foot.
Photo Credit: Image credit: suratdiamondbourse.in
Historically, Surat was one of the most important trade links between India and countries such as Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal because of its proximity to the Arabian Sea coast.
Image credit: suratdiamondbourse.in
It is a not for profit organization promoted by SDB Diamond Bourse, a company registered under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 and formed for the establishment and promotion of Diamond Bourse in Surat, Gujarat.