SURAT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse, the world’s largest and modern centre for the international diamond and jewellery business, on Sunday. “It will be a global centre for trading both rough and polished diamonds as well as jewellery. Bourse will comprise a state-of-the-art ‘Customs Clearance House’ for import and export; a jewellery mall for retail jewellery business and a facility for international banking and safe vaults,” an official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office read. As 90 per cent of the world’s diamond supply is cut and polished in Surat, it is also called the “Diamond City”. Surat being the ‘Diamond capital of the world’ is also recognised for the presence of a huge number of Textiles Industries and Educational Institutions and Research, Law Colleges, SVNIT, and religious places like Swami Narayan temple, Tombs of the Bohras, and Udvada, etc. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new terminal building of Surat Airport, built at a cost of Rs 353 crore. The terminal building is equipped to handle 1200 domestic passengers and 600 international passengers during peak hours and has a provision for further increasing the peak hour capacity to 3000 passengers, with the annual handling capacity increasing to 55 lakh passengers. The terminal building, as it is the gateway to Surat City, has been designed with its local culture and heritage, ensuring that the essence should reflect both in interior and exterior, creating a sense of place for the visitors. The facade of the upgraded terminal building aims to enrich the passenger experience with the rich and traditional woodwork of the old houses of the ‘Rander’ region of Surat City. The GRIHA IV GRIHA-compliant new terminal building of the airport is equipped with various sustainability features like an insulated roofing system, canopies for energy saving, low heat gain double glazing unit, rain water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant and use of recycled water for landscaping and solar power plant among others.
