Taking lessons from Australia, which has built several concrete airstrips and road stretches using waste slag, a byproduct of fuel and steel, the Centre has announced its intentions of replicating the model in the country.
The plans are afoot even as cement companies have offered close to 30 per cent discount on current cement rates-offering factory price rate of Rs120 per 50-kg-bag, which will go up to an average cost of Rs180-90 per bag (including transport and taxes), which will be a discount of nearly 30 per cent from the market price of Rs270-300.
But the Government is now keen on using slag for road building, which they say will be still cheaper and equally durable.
“If Australia can do it so can we. We only need to borrow their technology and experience for building our road network as the raw material is available for free and in plenty in India,” Nitin Gadkari, Minister, Road, Transport and Highways announced at a public event a couple of days ago.
“It will not just bring down the road building costs considerably, making it cheaper than bitumen by at least 25-30 per cent but will also help in clearing up mountains of waste slag accumulating in several pockets of the country,” he said.
The Centre has proposed a study for using slag to build concrete stretch connecting Mumbai and Goa. According to the Minister, “If the proposed study yields results as expected, the final cost of concrete road construction could be cheaper than cement by at least 15- 20 per cent,” said an official from the Ministry.
Soon after taking charge of Ministry of Road and Highways, Gadkari had announced his plan to build roads using concrete, which are more durable and low on maintenance but building costs were high.
“Officials from the Ministry have been asked to submit a Detailed Project Report for the proposed Mumbai-Goa Highway. The slag built-up in Alibaug could be used for the project, which is also close so transport costs will not be too high,” said the official.
“Although three dozen cement companies have shown interest and have also agreed to bring down prices by 30-40 per cent, the Minister is keen to test the use of slag,” he said.
Government sources say, even after adding taxes and transportation expenses, the prices at which cement in bulk will be available will be around 30-40 per cent less for construction firms as compared to current rates.
Gadkari, who had in the past warned cement companies against cartelisation, said the companies’ decision to offer cement at low rates will be good for the construction overall.“Internal rate of construction cost will come down in a big way. This will be good for the economy overall as construction activity across the board will see a spurt,” he pointed out.