Vallabh Lakhani, the Chairman of Kiran Gems and a millionaire diamond businessman, is expected to leave Mumbai, India’s financial hub, on November 21. The Chairman of Kiran Gems, the world’s biggest producer of natural diamonds in smaller sizes, Vallabh Kaka, is shifting to Surat. Notably, he is not traveling alone; he is escorting around 1,200 staff to their new home.
Kiran Gems has long been a key player in the diamond sector, with an annual turnover of Rs 17,000 crore. The company’s headquarters were in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai’s Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), occupying a sizable 12,000 square feet of space.
Lakhani has erected 2BHK apartments on a 40,000-square-yard land in Jiav village, Surat, to enable the successful transition of his whole business empire to Surat and to accommodate the employees who have been a part of Kiran Gems for the past two decades. The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), located on Palsana-Hazira State Highway 168, is only a 10-minute drive away.
The ‘Kiran Avenue’ residential project is now fully operational and ready to welcome the diamond assorters and their families from Mumbai. Their relocation to Surat is timed to coincide with the November 21 opening of Kiran Gems‘ 1.17 lakh square feet of office space in SDB.
The decision to relocate a company empire of this size from Mumbai to Surat is a historic and unique step in the history of Indian commerce. “First, we built the world’s largest diamond bourse in Khajod, and simultaneously, we built apartments for our employees in Mumbai,” said Vallabh Lakhani, who also serves as the Chairperson of the Surat Diamond Bourse project. The Kiran Avenue residential project is complete, and our colleagues from Mumbai will be moving in soon, he added.
This residential property has been thoughtfully built to fulfill all of Diamond employees’ and their families’ basic needs. The fully-furnished 2BHK flats contain PNG pipes and water connections, and the complex has a large shopping center and a dedicated canteen to meet the needs of the staff.