Cement can halve road construction costs

A Holcim seminar in Bangladesh has noted that the use of cement in road construction instead of bitumen can reduce costs by 50 per cent, according to work done by the local Roads and Highways Department (R&HD) engineers.  "Using the technology, I constructed an 80-metre portion of the 24-km Pabna-Paksey road six months ago...and so far no cracks developed on the road," said SM Shafiqul Alam, sub-divisional engineer of the R&HD. The technology is widely used in many developed countries, he informed the seminar organised by Holcim (Bangladesh) Ltd in Dhaka.

Communications Minister Nazmul Huda, R&HD Chief Engineer SK Rabiul Islam and Holcim (Bangladesh) Managing Director Ramit Budhraja also spoke at the function. The minister said the government will use the technology in its future road construction projects if it is found beneficial.

Edwin Petrie, a London-based expert who has 30-year experience in cement-based technology, made a presentation on ’Use of Cement in Road Stabilisation.’ According to Petrie, the technology reduces deflection of roads, prevents ingress of moisture and improves shear strength of the road. Sharing his experience of building cement-stabilised roads in Australia, he said Bangladesh could be benefited through applying the new concept. "But before that a lot of research should be conducted," he argued.

Holcim MD Ramit Budhraja said his company’s cement has been used in constructing Jamuna, Bhairab and Paksey bridges. The proposed Rupsha Bridge will also be built by Holcim cement, he added.