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The ministry of road
transport and highways
is contemplating use of
cement instead of
conventional bitumen for
construction of greenfield
expressways. In the event the
proposal for building concrete
expressways moves forward, it
is the domestic cement sector
that can expect to reap the
maximum benefit.
Indian cement manufacturers
are currently facing the heat of
excess supply because of large
scale capacity expansion.
Governmental nod to usage of
concrete in expressway projects
will go a long way in helping
cement manufacturers achieve
proper capacity utilisation.
"It is a welcome move as
concrete roads are undoubtedly
long lasting," N.A. Viswanathan,
Secretary General, Cement
Manufacturers' Association,
told Projectmonitor.
"The initial cost of
constructing a concrete road
may be more when compared to
a bituminous road. However,
one needs to take into account
the full project life cost. A
bituminous road requires
relaying after four to five years
whereas cement concrete roads
don't require maintenance for at
least 20 years. The life of a
concrete road is significantly
more than that of a bituminous
road. It is approximately 35 to
40 years," he added.
Viswanathan cited several
other distinct advantages in
support of concrete roads.
"Cement concrete roads offer
better riding experience to
vehicle users. Also, it has been
found that heavy vehicles plying
on such roads are able to save on
fuel. From the safety viewpoint,
concrete roads provide better
visibility and more illumination.
During monsoons, bituminous
roads develop cracks because of
water but there is no such impact
on concrete roads," he said.
Despite the strong and
convincing arguments in favour
of concrete expressways and
highways, road developers and
contractors are yet to take a
definite stand on whether it is
really viable to replace the
time-tested bitumen. This wary
approach stems from the fact
that use of cement in road
development projects in the
country is still very limited.
"In the current scenario, it
may not be a practical
proposition to use cement
in the construction of
highways and expressways,"
said M. Murali, Director
General, National Highway
Builders Federation.
"Usage of cement will increase
the cost of projects. Bitumen, on
the other hand, is highly cost
effective. It is supplied by
nationalised oil companies. A
few multinational oil companies
are also importing it. Besides,
there is need to conduct proper
trial runs on concrete roads
before thinking of replacing
bitumen with cement. It is
important to find out how
concrete roads will be impacted
by harsh climatic conditions
and overloaded vehicles. It is
also not known what impact
concrete roads will have on
vehicle movement or how
vehicle manufacturers will react
to it," he added.
Some experts are of the
opinion that in case of road
projects under the buildoperate-
transfer mode, usage of
bitumen offers greater
flexibility to the road developer.
"For BOT projects, phased
development is always
preferable," said D.P. Gupta,
former Director General (Road
Development), MoRTH, and
currently Director (Roads &
Highways) at the New Delhibased
Asian Institute of
Transport Development.
"A road developer may design
a bituminous road for 10 years
with plans to provide another
dosage of investment after the
10-year period. To ensure that
the developer makes the
required investments, there can
be a clause and counter-clause
in the agreement," he added.
Gupta also said that though
concrete roads were a viable
option, some of the claims that
had been put forward in favour
of cement usage in road
projects required closer
scrutiny. "There is a need to
verify these claims through
substantive experiments by
detached parties," Gupta said.
According to a senior official of
National Highways Authority of
India, there is no compulsion on
road developers at present to use
cement instead of bitumen. "It is
not mandatory to use concrete.
Some long term concessionaires
may opt for concrete roads
because of their low
maintenance," the official said.
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