India’s Bharat Diamond Bourse Opens Its Doors
October 17, 10
 Large rough suppliers to India have been exempt from import bank guarantees, said Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma (above) |
With nearly 2 million square feet of office space above ground and a 1 million square foot basement, the BDB houses 2,500 offices in eight nine-floor towers. With each tower connected to the other by secure corridors on several floors, a walk from the eastern-most tower to the western end entails a walk of 1.6 km.
Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma, one of the guests of honor, said that India’s main concern is to secure direct supplies of rough diamonds, particularly for the smaller players. He added that large suppliers such Alrosa, Rio Tinto and Endiama have been granted exemptions from import bank guarantee requirements.
According to Anoop Mehta, president of the BDB, while 20 percent of the customs processing facilities would move into the new complex on Monday, all of it as well as a major part of the diamond trade was expected to move into the new facility by January 2011.
Due to a relaxation in floor space index rules (a specified ratio of how much a plot of land can be built up) since the project was initiated, Mehta told the media at an earlier press briefing, the BDB now has the option of erecting a ninth 20-story tower.
Mehta noted that the basement held parking for 2,000 cars as well as housing the complex’s 9,000-ton air conditioning plant that would use half a million liters of recycled water every day for cooling. The water would come from the BDB’s own sewage treatment plant, he added. The complex houses four separate vaults in different locations.
Taking into account that a significant number of the membership of the BDB was constituted by the smaller players, some 1,600 offices at the complex were units of less than 600 square feet.
According to Mehta, it is expected that between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors with a peak inflow of 30,000 will come to the complex every day. The complex has cost Rs.11 billion ($249 million at current exchange rates), with the land alone accounting for $56.75 million.
Members taking possession of their offices now would have effectively paid only around $136 per square foot, while resale prices of offices have shot up exponentially since the completion of the project. Mehta said that 30 percent of the offices at the complex were currently being fitted out, while the plans of another 40 percent were in the process of being scrutinized by the complex’s management.