KUCHING - Sarawak aims to take the lead in implementing waste products such as plastic and slag for its road construction said its Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Uggah, who is also the Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development Sarawak said the state Public Works Department (JKR) was conducting research to ensure the entire process of using by-products for contruction projects would meet the national standard.
"Sarawak has been very innotivative (to implement this) and I am very positive that if it (plastic) can be done (to build roads) in Victoria, Australia, then there is no reason it cannot be done in Sarawak.
"I cannot share the timeframe, but I am hoping for private sectors to take on this initiative because later on, they will be the main players to produce the waste and turn into road construction materials,” he said when met by reporters after attending the Road Construction Seminar, here today.
Themed ‘Revolutionising Road and Airport Infrastructure: Exploring Cutting Edge Technologies, Innovative & Recycled Materials, and Real-World Applications’ the seminar held by Institution of Engineers, Malaysia is aimed at discussing the implementation of recycled materials in building roads and airports.
On using slag, a by-product from the smelting or refining of ore in its future road construction projects, the deputy premier said the state government will engage with Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry as Malaysia has not recognised slag as a construction material yet.
"At the moment, we still cannot use slag to build roads as we (JKR) are still conducting study,” he said adding that slag is being produced by ferroalloy industries at the Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu amounting to 100,000 tons per annum, and is classified as a waste product.
Previously, it was reported that Sarawak will formulate guidelines for using slag as a road construction material with the road construction at Samalaju in Bintulu serving as a pilot project for such an initiative. - BERNAMA