The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is making remarkable strides in environment-friendly practices when it comes to road construction. The sustainability practices include the recycling and use of rubber tyres as an enhanced material for bitumen use modified with crumb rubber (CRMB).
According to an official statement, The volume of recycled materials and their use in projects reached more than 11mn tonnes. A total of 1,000 tonnes of recycled material was produced in 2023.
Reclaimed asphalt from existing roads is also used before the commencement of development projects and is recycled in the asphalt layers on new and upgraded roads. Last year, 93,000 tonnes of reclaimed asphalt were reused for paved roads.
Concrete and extracted materials of excavation and aggregate works are recycled for new projects. While 2mn tonnes of such material were used in base layers, 8mn tonnes were used in backfill work and 176,000 tonnes used as a material for pipe and cable insulation.
Ashghal has established three material recycling zones to optimise resource efficiency. These facilities became operational in 2020 for processing and recycling construction waste materials instead of disposing them in landfills. The recycling zones have contributed to reducing the distance of transportation for landfill disposal by 60km on average. Also, 2mn tonnes of groundwater was reclaimed and treated in Roads Projects Department projects in 2023. A total of 22 wastewater treatment plants, operated by Ashghal, have produced approximately 773,000 cu m/day of treated water.
Ashghal has also invested in introducing the latest sustainability techniques for road operation and maintenance to increase its longevity and reduce maintenance waste by scanning roads, bridges and drainage networks. It has launched several systems, programmes and initiatives aimed at engaging all stakeholders from consulting companies, contractors, suppliers and workers. It developed and implemented its Environment and Sustainability Monthly Report in 2019 to accurately monitor and report all construction materials and carbon emissions to record them in the report.
Dr Ali Mohamed al-Marri, manager of Quality and Safety Department, said all these aim to promote best practices, encourage innovation and adopt new technologies. In recognition of these initiatives, Ashghal has won several awards. These include Business Intelligence Group – Sustainability Initiative for 2023, Green Initiatives Award (Communitas Global Award), Sustainability Award (Construction Material Recycling) (Communitas Global Awards), Green Apple Award – Environmental Policy and Management and Green World Ambassador and WSHAsia 2023 First Place Award.
