We all know that India likes to benchmark against China in everything it does, especially in infrastructure, and India always wants to surpass China.
Although he is frequently slapped in the face every time, India's psychological quality is particularly good, and he can brag anytime and anywhere.
Now India has a new standard of boasting, because they have built the world's largest office building with 2.8 billion yuan, which is bigger than the Pentagon in the United States.
Such an office building marks a lot of improvement in India's infrastructure level compared to the previous one, but in fact, not all Indians are interested in this super office building, and some people are very much against it, what is going on?
It is true that India's development has been somewhat sluggish, but India also has some advantages.
India is an important centre for diamond processing and trade in the world, and while India's share of global gem and jewellery exports is only 3.5 per cent, India's Surat is the world's largest diamond polishing centre, where nearly ninety percent of the world's diamonds are polished.
Surat in Gujarat, in particular, is also home to the world's largest community of diamond workers.
Previously, diamond trading in India was mainly concentrated in Mumbai, also known as the Bharat Diamond Exchange.
Now, these diamond traders in India have moved to Surat, Gujarat.
On December 17, 2023, the Surat Diamond Exchange was officially put into operation.
It also means that the world's largest office building has changed hands, no longer the Pentagon in the United States, but the Surak Diamond Exchange in India.
In order to build this office building, India invested a total of 32 billion rupees, equivalent to about 2.8 billion yuan, and it took four years to build.
Although it is an office building, it is actually completely different from the skyscraper we imagined, and it feels a bit like a residential area in China.
The Surat Exchange consists of 9 rectangular, 15-storey buildings with a total of 131 elevators, covering an area of 62 hectares and accommodating more than 4,500 offices.
To be precise, it is the largest office complex in the world.
Since it is a diamond exchange, it is necessary to consider the geographical location, trading habits, parking and other issues during the construction process.
The airport is right next to the Surat Exchange, which is only 5 kilometers away in a straight line.
Considering the traffic coming and going into the building, the traffic layout is set up to provide a one-way traffic circulation on the outer internal roads, with separate entrances and exits, reducing the possibility of traffic congestion and eliminating potential vehicle collision locations.
Due to India's unique climatic conditions, the office complex was designed from the ground up to incorporate modern elements from the original office building type.
A central axis is set in the middle of the entire office complex, which serves as the anchor point of each building, which connects the various floors of the building horizontally and vertically, so that everyone entering the exchange can quickly find their destination, effectively saving time.
The Diamond Club is located in the northwestern part of the site, but in terms of overall shape, it looks more like it extends from a free-flowing wall on the central axis.
The nine office towers are separated by a central axis, interspersed with tree-lined courtyards for rest and recreation.
All of the exchange's office towers are located north and south, which ensures that there is enough light every day and that the harsh sunlight from the west does not interfere with the view of workers.
Seventy-five percent of the workspace is filled with scattered light every day.
There is plenty of light, there is also a reasonable layout for everyone to quickly move between the office buildings to find their destination, and there are various courtyards in the exchange where these diamond merchants can bask in the sun while talking about business.
But those who follow international news also know that India, as a tropical country, is also one of the issues that Indians need to consider.
Of all the buildings, office buildings are the largest source of energy consumption and are therefore more likely to feel hot.
Considering this reality, the density of users in the office buildings inside the exchange is relatively high, so the designers used low-tech passive strategies and modern technology to directly offset it.
The ends of the building are expanded outwards so that the Venturi effect can be used to introduce prevailing winds.
In the windless season, these patchwork atriums also allow the hot air from the complex to be expelled through the lamination effect.
It can be seen that India has indeed spent a lot of thought on building the Surat Exchange. On the opening day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to cut the ribbon in person.
It is worth mentioning that Surat in Gujarat is actually Modi's hometown, and at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Modi said that Surat is transforming into a "radiant diamond city" and will create 150,000 new jobs in India.
India's Rs. 32 billion Surak Diamond Exchange was built in the hope of helping India increase its share of international exports of gems and jewelry. To promote the sector as a key export hub for India, the Government of India has also supported it through a series of incentives.
But for some Indians, the opening of the Surat Exchange is not a good thing, and these people are Mumbai.
Because before the opening of the Surak Exchange, most of India's diamond trading was on the Bharat Diamond Exchange, and there was a certain dispute between Sunak and Mumbai because of the diamond exchange, after the official opening of the Surat Exchange, nearly a thousand diamond companies expressed their thoughts that they would probably stop operating in Mumbai and move their offices to the Diamond Exchange in Forat.
In addition to internal conflicts, there are many challenges facing India's diamond and jewellery business.
For example, the Surat Exchange is a newly put into use office building complex after all, so it will definitely face a lot of growth problems in the next process.
It remains to be seen whether the exchange will be able to smoothly transform and integrate these companies under one roof.
In addition, India's diamond business has also been affected by geopolitical factors, because most of the diamonds processed by Surak are actually from Siberia, since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Russian diamond miners have been subject to certain sanctions, which has also had a strong impact on the international diamond industry, especially India's diamond business.
In addition to the above factors, although the Surat Exchange is right next to the airport, there is actually only one flight from the airport, and it is an international flight to the UAE only.
The Slug Exchange is located on the outskirts of India, and the surrounding amenities and entertainment facilities are very few compared to the urban areas, so it is not very convenient for Indians to trade in Surat.
Overall, while the Indian government is very supportive of Surat, there are many internal and external challenges that it faces. It remains to be seen whether Surat will be able to grow and help India realize its dream of exporting jewelry.
Resources:
[1] Red Star News, "Over the Pentagon! India opens the world's largest office complex, Modi: 150,000 jobs will be created》2023-12-18
[2] Lab-grown Diamond Network, "The New Pattern of India's Diamond Industry: The Rise of Surat, the Decline of Mumbai?" 》2023-12-18