A building in India’s diamond city of Surat has surpassed The Pentagon to become the world’s largest office.
Surat in Gujarat state is known as the world’s diamond capital, where 90 per cent of the precious stones are cut.
It will now house the world’s largest office building, the Surat Diamond Bourse, dedicated to the gemstone industry.
The 15-storey building has more than 7.1 million square feet of floor space, outdoing The Pentagon, the headquarters of the US defence department in Arlington Co, Virginia, which has 6.5 million sq ft.
It is 81.9 metres tall and cost 32 billion rupees ($38 million) to build.
The Diamond Bourse was designed by Delhi-based Morphogenesis and is based on the concept of Panchtatva, the five elements of nature – water, fire, air, earth and sky.
“It is the world’s largest building,” Sonali Rastogi, co-founder of Morphogenesis, told The National. "It houses different sizes of offices but are all meant for diamond merchants.
"There are 300 sq ft to 25,000 sq ft offices. It has been built for the diamond merchant community."
The building has a unique design of nine interconnected rectangular structures emanating from a central spine.
It can house more than 4,700 diamond offices and 65,000 industry professionals, including cutters, polishers and traders, the architects said.
The building offers dining, retail, wellness and conference services and has marble floors and light-filled atriums connecting all office space.
There are courtyards with seating and water features.
Ms Rastogi said no office takes longer than seven minutes to reach from any of the building’s entry gates.
Construction started in 2019 although not with the intention of creating the world’s largest office building, she said.
“It was a global, two-stage competition that was floated by the committee of the Surat Diamond Board,” she said.
"We won the competition. It took us four and a half years to finish the building.
“When it started, it wasn’t trying to become the largest building. Slowly some of the requirements grew and some things got added to the project and then it turned out to be bigger than the Pentagon.”
The building was ready on time and diamond companies had bought all available office space before construction was complete, Ms Rastogi said.
It will welcome its first occupants in November and is likely to be officially opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose home state is Gujarat.
“Surat Diamond Bourse showcases the dynamism and growth of Surat's diamond industry,” Mr Modi tweeted on Wednesday.
"It is also a testament to India’s entrepreneurial spirit.
"It will serve as a hub for trade, innovation and collaboration, further boosting our economy and creating employment opportunities."
SPECS
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West Asia rugby, season 2017/18 - Roll of Honour
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Andor
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome