Billionaire diamond businessman Vallabh Lakhani, Chairman of Kiran Gems is set to bid goodbye to Mumbai on November 21 along with approximately 1,200 employees. Several other diamond companies are said to follow suit in due course.
Kiran Gems holds the distinction of being the world’s largest employer in the diamond industry, with approximately 48,000 skilled diamond artisans employed across its eight diamond factories, all situated in Surat.
Vallabh Lakhani’s vision for this unprecedented transition is to ensure the successful relocation of his entire business empire to Surat, Gujarat. Till now, Kiran Gems is headquartered in Mumbai’s prestigious Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Bandra Kurla Complex, occupying a substantial 12,000 square feet area.
To accommodate the employees, Lakhani has constructed a lavish 2BHK apartments on a sprawling 40,000 square-yard property in Jiav village, Surat, which is just a 10-minute drive from the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB).
Aptly named ‘Kiran Avenue' the residential project is now fully operational and ready to welcome the diamond assorters and their families from Mumbai. They are scheduled to shift to their new residences in Surat after the Diwali festival. Several other diamond companies in Mumbai are following suit, choosing to make the momentous shift alongside Kiran Gems.
Vallabh Lakhani, addressing the exodus from Mumbai, explained, “We are not forcing anyone to shift from Mumbai to Surat. We’re merely saying that by coming to the SDB, diamond companies can benefit in terms of a richer social life, a drastic reduction in travel time , affordable real estate properties at one-third the cost of Mumbai, and, most importantly, a direct reduction of 3-4% in the prices of polished diamonds.”
Incidentally, diamond trading at the SDB is officially scheduled to begin on November 21, while the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate SDB on December 17.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
