India has signed a loan deal of 76 million dollars with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a project to upgrade the environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards. <br/><br/>The total cost of the project will be 111 million dollars, out of which 76 million dollars will be provided as soft loan from JICA. Out of the remaining amount, 25 million dollars as taxes and fees will be borne by Government of Gujarat and the balance 10 million dollars will be shared by Ministry of Shipping and Government of Gujarat. <br/><br/>Ministry of Shipping in a release yesterday said, the project will be executed by Gujarat Maritime Board and is likely to be completed by 2022. The project will help the Alang-Sosia ship-recycling yards to comply with international safety and environmental regulations. <br/><br/>It will attract more business at the recycling facilities at Alang, thereby further consolidating India's share in the global ship-recycling industry. The project will also help in safeguarding the marine and coastal environment.<br/><br/>The use of advanced decontamination technology will rule out the possibility of fire accidents in oil and chemical tankers, thereby ensuring workers safety. The project is expected to result in increase in direct employment from 50 thousand to 92 thousand people and in-direct employment from 1.5 lakhs to 3 lakh people.