A foul-smelling landfill site in Khajod on Surat’s outskirts is turning into a garden, the waste treatment plant is being shifted, a Metro rail is in the pipeline as is the extension of the city bus connectivity to Khajod, as Surat rolls out the red carpet to gems and jewellery businessmen across the world, ahead of the inauguration of the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) and the international airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
Claimed by its architects — the Delhi-based Morphogenesis — as the “world’s biggest workspace”, SDB has reportedly beaten US’s Pentagon in capacity by having 4,200 diamond trading offices, and aims to shift the entire diamond trading business out of Mumbai, to Surat.
Diamond businessmen whom The Indian Express spoke with, however, have a long list of demands, including more international flights from Surat airport, which now only sees one flight to Sharjah, and “relaxing prohibition laws”.
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After Diwali this year, 135 offices had opened in SDB, of which 26 are run by Mumbai-based businessmen, who have either shifted or expanded their business to Surat.
SDB media convener Dinesh Navadiya said, “We expect footfall of around 21,000 people at the inauguration, including diamond businessmen from abroad.”
The SDB has been built on an area of 66 lakh sq ft at DREAM (Diamond Research and Mercantile) City, a greenfield project designed as a township spread over nearly 700 acre. The bourse, with nine 15-storey interconnected towers, has offices ranging from 300 sq ft to 7,5000 sq ft.
All activities and infrastructure related to diamonds, such as sale of rough and polished diamonds, manufacturing machineries, software used in designing, certificate firms and lab-grown diamonds, among others, will be available at SDB. Also, 27 retail jewellery outlets will be opened while over 4,000 CCTV cameras have been installed at SDB.
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SDB president Nagjibhai Sakariya said, “Currently, 135 offices are open and we are hopeful that after inauguration, others will also start opening their offices mid next year. Till now, Mumbai was the hub of diamond trading… with this new complex, Surat will also become one of the biggest trading hubs of diamonds and jewellery.”
Shrusti Diamonds is owned by Dahyabhai Jivani, who is looking to expand his manufacturing and trading business to Surat from Mumbai’s Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB).
Dahyabhai’s son Chintan Jivani said, “We trade in diamonds and export cut and polished diamonds to the US, UK, Hong Kong and Dubai, among others… Our annual turnover in Mumbai was between Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore. After opening an office in Surat, we expect to reach Rs 400 crore. We will continue our trading offices both in Surat and Mumbai.”
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“We want Surat airport to get additional international air connectivity, which will boost our business. We also want 7-star hotels in the city and relaxation in the prohibition laws to attract international clients,” he added. SDB chairman and owner of Kiran Gems, Vallabhbhai Lakhani, has shifted his entire business from Mumbai to SDB. The firm had been manufacturing and trading cut and polished natural diamonds since 2007. Vallabhbhai’s nephew Dinesh Lakhani said, “We are on the top in terms of the volume of polished diamonds exported. We have manufacturing units in Surat and Ahmedabad with around 45,000 employees. We have shifted our corporate sales office to Surat. The staff from Mumbai has been allotted flats in Surat and we have a pick-up and drop facility for them. We expect a rise in our annual turnover by up to Rs 17,000 in Surat.”
“Around 85 per cent of our polished diamonds are exported to 50 countries, including the US, Hong Kong, Dubai and Europe, among others. Ninety per cent of our foreign clientele are committed buyers,” he said, adding that daily, around 2.5 lakh diamonds are cut and polished in their factory.
Dinesh said it is the “space crunch” in Mumbai and the long commute to work — up to “one-and-a-half hours one way” for the staff — that pushed them to come to Gujarat. “In Surat, they can reach office in 10 minutes. Even the area of our offices in BKC and BDB was less in comparison to SDB.”
The Khajod Urban Development Authority (KHUDA), which is developing the DREAM City and the Surat International Airport, was set up by the Gujarat government in 2019 to develop an area of 48 sq km.
Surat Deputy Municipal Commissioner Dharmesh Mistry said that KHUDA’s major projects are the airport, DREAM City and the solid waste disposal site. “A special purpose vehicle named DREAM City Limited has been formed with paid up capital of Rs 100 crore… while 75 per cent is paid by the state government, 20 per cent comes from SMC and 5 per cent from SUDA (Surat Urban Development Authority).”
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He added, “DREAM City is spread across 681 hectare, of which 561 hectare is government land and 125 hectare is private land. The first phase of development, worth Rs 120 crore, has been completed… it comprised construction of roads, sewage and entrance gate. The second phase of work, worth Rs 263 crore, will be completed in February 2024.”
Mistry said that hospitals, schools, diamond and jewellery industry institutes, information technology park, recreation areas, hotels, cinema halls and residential quarters are in the pipeline.
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The Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) solid waste landfill site, located 1,500 m from the SDB, had become an eyesore. Following complaints of “foul smell emanating from it”, the SMC has converted 37 hectare of the landfill site into gardens.
SMC environmental engineer Jwalant Naik said, “We have got 34 hectares of land at Umber village, 5 km from the current landfill site. We are waiting for environment clearance and then will start work… The entire project cost will be around Rs 270 crore…”
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He added that while 2,400 metric tonne of solid waste is treated daily at Khajod, the new site will have the capacity to treat 4,500 metric tonne every day.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.