Top diamond traders fix Feb 18 to shift to Surat Diamond Bourse

Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghavi held a meeting with around 45 diamond traders from Mahidharpura on Saturday, during which it was decided that they would shift operations to SDB from Feb 18. 

Another meeting was held earlier this week with a different group of traders to discuss the transition. Earlier, traders had announced Jan 23 as the shifting date following a meeting with Sanghavi in July. In the last week of that month, Sanghavi had held two back-to-back meetings with various trader groups to persuade them to move to SDB. After those meetings, it was announced that traders had begun furniture work in their offices and would start operations in January.

Earlier, several attempts were made by top diamond manufacturers and members of the SDB committee to attract firms from Mumbai to the bourse. Meetings were held in Mumbai and parts of Surat, but these efforts failed to generate momentum. Out of the 4,200 offices in the SDB complex, fewer than 50 are currently operational. Apart from a handful of large manufacturers, most traders are yet to begin functioning from the building.