Gujarat government to form SPV for DREAM City project in Surat

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Government will form a Special Purpose Vehicle ( SPV) to expedite the proposed project of setting up a Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City in Surat, aimed at providing a global platform for buying and selling of diamonds at single location.

The decision to form the SPV was taken during today's cabinet meeting which was chaired by state Chief Minister Anandi Patel.

According to an official release, the proposed DREAM City will be established on 2000 acres of land.

The project will have a world class diamond trading exchange called ' Diamond Bourse' as well as other related facilities and infrastructure, said the release.

Ninety per cent of world's rough diamonds are polished in numerous units located in Surat, Navsari, Bhavnagar and Amreli of Gujarat. However, the industry still lacks proper trading facility and infrastructure as Gujarat-based traders have to go to Mumbai to sell the polished diamonds, as per the release.

The project is designed to address this issue. Once it is commenced, traders from India as well as from other countries will be able to sell and buy rough as well as polished diamonds directly at one place.

As per the figures provided by the government, the sector contributes Rs 33,000 crore to the country's GDP. The state government also claimed that investment worth Rs 1.29 lakh crore will be done in this sector soon, as two Investment Intentions have been signed during the recently-completed Vibrant Gujarat Summit.