Prime minister Narendra Modi, on his visit to Surat today, inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), touted as the world’s largest corporate workplace, and a new terminal of the Surat Airport.

On establishing the Surat Diamond Bourse, he said that it is the fruit of “Modi’s guarantee.”

“Today Surat is among the top 10 developing cities of the world. Surat’s street food, skill development work, everything is amazing. Surat was once known as Sun City but today the people here, with their hard work, have made it a diamond city,” Modi said.

The SDB is set to emerge as the global epicentre for the international diamond and jewellery business.

Situated at Khajod village near Surat city, the SDB spans over 67 lakh square feet of floor area. It is designed to facilitate the global trading of rough and polished diamonds and exquisite jewellery.

The facility includes a ‘Customs Clearance House’ for import and export, a jewellery mall for retail businesses, international banking services, and safe vaults.

Several diamond traders, including those formerly based in Mumbai, have taken possession of their offices within the SDB premises, which were allotted by the management after a successful auction.

The construction of the SDB, built on 35.54 acres of land for ₹3,400 crore, positions it as a global hub for rough and polished diamond trading.

The Surat Airport's newly integrated terminal building has been constructed for ₹353 crore. This facility is equipped to handle 1,200 domestic and 600 international passengers hourly during peak hours, with a flexibility to expand its capacity to accommodate up to 3,000 passengers.

PM Modi, while addressing the crowd in Surat, underlined the government’s vision for economic development, and said that the BJP government has set a target for next 25 years and is working towards achieving the set target.

“Whether the aim is to achieve the 5 trillion-dollar economy or 10 trillion-dollar economy, the government has fixed the target for the next 25 years. We are working towards achieving this target,” said the PM.

He said that the government is committed to bolster India’s export industry and propel the country into the top three economies in the world during his third term in office.

Modi is scheduled to embark on a two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi.

(Source: IANS)

- Edited for style

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