Anoop Mehta is understandably proud. “This is the first project where industry has built the whole infrastructure on its own,” says the president of Bharat Diamond Bourse, whose spanking new integrated facility was inaugurated in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex on Sunday. But Mehta, who has steered the project since 2003, refuses to hog the limelight. “Give credit to the team, as such an ambitious project cannot be completed single-handedly,” he says.
Be that as it may, Mehta is seen as the driving force behind a project that has been delayed by nearly two decades. First conceived in 1991 and plans finalised in 1992-93, the proposed diamond bourse saw many a bull and bear phase. And a fair share of crisis. After Mehta took over, work in the area has been periodically stalled by floods, changes to rules and regulations, even a real estate crash.
In the interim, the project cost went up from Rs 450 crore to Rs 1,100 crore. But the market value of the whole complex is now four to five times this cost. “Today, we are leaders in every aspect of the diamond trade. With the inauguration of this bourse, we will now be equipped with the best infrastructure in the world,” says Mehta, who is also on the executive committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.
