India: The Alang ship recycling hub in Gujarat, India,
will upgrade 70 shipbreaking yards over the next four years thanks to a US$ 180
million loan, IHS Maritime has reported.
According to Atul Sharma of the Gujarat Maritime
Board, some 85% of the funds will be provided by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), with India investing the remaining 15%. Currently
being processed by federal and state governments, the proposal envisages that
the loan will be repaid over 40 years at an interest rate of 1.4%.
Planned upgrades will cover: the construction of a
pre-treatment facility for the removal and treatment of those hazardous
materials from ships that raise 'special concerns'; and expansion of the
current treatment storage disposal facility such that it will be possible for
25 tonnes of waste to be incinerated daily.
According to Sharma, part of the funding will benefit
the ongoing construction of a pilot housing project to accommodate 1000
labourers at first and up to 5000 workers over the next three years.
Thus far, four of Alang's recycling yards have
completed the first phase of an international standard certification process.
Once approved, the yards will officially meet the standards of the
International Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound
Recycling of Ships.
'Japanese companies own 2000 out of the total 3000
major ships in the world' points out Keiji Tomoda, chairman of the Ship
Recycling Sub-Committee of the Japanese Ship Owners' Association. 'Most of the
Japanese-owned ships go to China for recycling after their life. But we want to
sell end-of-life ships to India because India offers better prices than China.'
Source: recycling international. 15 January 2014
http://www.recyclinginternational.com/recycling-news/8449/ferrous-metals/india/shipbreaking-alang-line-major-facelift
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