No takers for DREAM City, except for the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) project

Surat : The Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City, an upcoming business district in Surat, was billed as the third smart city after the Gujarat International Finance Tech (GIFT) City and Dholera Smart City near Ahmedabad. Except for the Surat Diamond Bourse’s (SDB) first major project, no one appears to be interested in the land available for hotel, residential and commercial projects, shopping malls, industries and corporates, and so on.

DREAM City is located near Khajod, about 15 kilometres from Surat, and was announced in 2015. The SDB was the first project in the DREAM City, and it is nearly finished and ready for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration in May 2023.

The SDB diamond bourse committee, led by diamond barons including Kiran Gems chairman Vallabhbhai Lakhani, purchased 14.78 hectares of land from the Gujarat Government’s Dream City Company Limited for Rs 600 crore.

The State Government began work on providing basic amenities such as electricity, road, drainage, street light, and the massive diamond-shaped welcome gate with the large sum of money paid for the land parcel by the diamantaires. Over 300 plots in DREAM City have been designated for hotels, residential and commercial buildings, shopping malls, and other amenities, but no investor has yet to commit to launching a project in DREAM City.

On February 8, 2023, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the world’s leading gemological institute based in the United States (US), submitted a non-binding expression of interest to purchase land in the DREAM City. According to the EoI, GIA India has expressed its intent to purchase a land parcel measuring 16,077 square metres in carpet area for Rs 58,000 per square metre (A copy of the EoI is with The Blunt Times).

It should be noted that DREAM City sold the land to SDB for Rs 73,000 per square metre, whereas GIA submitted a proposal for Rs 58,000 per square metre.

According to official sources, the contract for the construction of 8.9 kilometres of roads in the DREAM City was awarded for Rs 318.40 crore. In the first phase, 3.4 kilometres of road in the SDB area were built. The DREAM City’s entrance gate has already been completed and costs Rs 9.53 crore.

Surprisingly, the majority of residential and commercial projects in the DREAM City’s immediate vicinity have been successfully launched and sold out. Realtors claim that land prices in DREAM City are 30-35% higher than private land parcels in the area.