TEMPO.CO, Bekasi - The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry will trial plastic-tar roads in Medan, Surabaya and Tangerang-Merak toll road, followed by other cities at later dates. The trials will be carried out gradually based on traffic condition.
The plastic-tar road technology was trialed at Bali’s Udayana University 700-meter long road on July 18-29. “We have trialed it on roads with low traffic. The result is decent,” Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said in a press statement received by Tempo yesterday.
The Public Works Ministry has also trialed plastic-tar roads in Bekasi in a 2.6-km long congested area.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has expressed his appreciation of the technology. “If successful, Pak Basuki’s planned trial will continue and if all are successful, we will continue next year,” he said after inspecting the trial of the laying of asphalt in Bekasi on Saturday. He is confident that the project will work since similar technology has already been implemented in 113,000-km roads in India.
Minister Basuki believes that the plastic-tar mixture is stronger. Other positive aspects include reduction of plastic waste in the ocean since the demand for plastic-tar is high.
Basuki explained that Indonesia has 46,000-km roads. The plastic-tar technology needs three tons of plastic for every kilometer of road with standard specification. It means that 138,000 tons of plastic will be needed for plastic-tar mixture.
The Public Works Ministry Road and Bridge R&D Center director Deded P. Syamsudin said that the plastic-tar mixture is stronger 40 percent compared to the regular one. The price, however, is 2 percent more expensive.
At present, he said, some 5.2 tons of plastic waste are available for use. A mixture of tar and 6 percent plastic would consume 1.5 million tons of plastic per year and 50 percent plastic-tar mixture would need 0.45 million tons of plastic waste per year.
The Public Works Ministry said that it has been conducting research on plastic-tar roads since 2008. Earlier this year, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs encouraged the research to continue.
YOHANES PASKALIS PAE DALE | CAESAR AKBAR | RETNO SULISTYOWATI
