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Alang

Town in Gujarat, India

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Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard.

01Demographics

As of the 2001 Indian census, Alang had a population of 18,464. Males constitute 82% of the population and females 18%. Alang has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 89% of the males and 11% of females literate. Seven percent of the population is under 6 years of age.

Ongoing ship breaking at Alang
Ongoing ship breaking at Alang

02Economy

Mithi Virdi nuclear power plant

Mithi Virdi (or Viradi) was a proposed site consisting of six nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 6,600 MW about 3 km (2 mi) north of the ship breaking beach.

The proposed nuclear plant faced heavy opposition from the local population. As a result, the plans were cancelled and ultimately relocated to Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh. The area around the formerly-proposed plant is known for growing some of the highest-quality kesar mango trees.

Ship Breaking Yard

The Alang Ship Breaking Yard is the world's largest ship breaking yard, responsible for dismantling more than a third of retired freight and cargo ships salvaged from around the world. It is located on the Gulf of Khambhat by the town of Alang, in the district of Bhavnagar in the state of Gujarat, India.

N. Sundaresan was the founder of Alang Ship Recycling Yard in 1983, the shipyard is believed to have acquired a total of US$110.6 billion in aggregate value, including total assets. Its growth has prompted its extension northeast towards Sosiya in Gujarat, and it is now often referred to as the Alang-Sosiya Yard.

SS Norway awaits the ship breakers at Alang, August, 2007
SS Norway awaits the ship breakers at Alang, August, 2007
Watch videos about AlangExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Alang, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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