Customs Staff "Bored" at Near-Empty Bourse
December 18, 24
(IDEX Online) - Customs officials at Surat Diamond Bourse have complained they're bored and have nothing to do, because there is so little activity at the world's largest office building.
Staff say they're handling just one or two diamond parcels for export each day, according to a report in The Blunt Times, a Surat-based news website.
The vast new bourse, officially opened last December by India's prime minister Narendra Modi, has a capacity of 4,500 offices, but remains virtually empty.
Banks have reportedly ceased operations at SDB because there was so little to do, and a restaurant and ice cream parlor have closed.
Lalji Patel, vice-chairman of the SDB told The Blunt Times that "about 15 to 20 diamond parcels" were being sent through the customs house, but didn't specify if that was per day.
He said the figure will certainly increase before January 2025.
Mahesh Gadhvi, CEO at SDB, said recently that 250 offices (in the 6.6 million square feet building) were currently occupied (that's less than 6 per cent of the total).
Kiran Gems, the world's largest rough diamond manufacturer, relocated to SDB when it opened for business, but moved most staff back to Mumbai within weeks.