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TCL to reintroduce technology for cheaper, more durable roads
– training of Guyanese commences
After 30 years, roads made from concrete foundation are still durable, therefore, the Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) Guyana Incorporated is looking to reintroduce the technology here.
According to Avaleen Mooloo, the TCL Group’s Civil Engineer, apart from lasting longer, roads built using the soil cement stabilisation process would cost less, especially here in Guyana, since all the materials needed are available locally.
“Guyana would no longer have to worry about importing asphalt,”
Andira Kowlessar (left) and Avaleen Mooloo
she stressed.
Mooloo explained that concrete roads were being done here; however, like Jamaica, the country had moved away from this technology and had started to use asphalt.
The Engineer told Kaieteur News yesterday that upon realizing the benefits of the soil cement technology and how economically viable it is, TCL is looking to simultaneously re-launch it in the two countries.
Mooloo explained that currently, both the East Bank Highway and the Parfaite Harmonie Access Road are being constructed using the concrete foundation.
“This is also being used by private contractors on smaller projects.”
The TCL official guaranteed that roads made from the aforementioned technology can be sustained with little or no maintenance. It was to this end that smaller islands across the Caribbean have fully implemented the use of concrete roads.
“It’s because these French West Indian Islands do not have enough resources to continue repairing their roads that they are sticking to the concrete foundation,” Mooloo told this newspaper.
She explained too that the durability of the concrete roads is not dependent on the state of the soil. Therefore, even if the soil condition is poor (perhaps sinks), the road will remain as is, without deteriorating, Mooloo asserted.
Kaieteur News was told that in an effort to ensure that the soil cement stabilisation process is properly used and fully implemented, the TCL Group will be conducting a series of training sessions here.
The seminars will be facilitated by staff of the recently established- TCL Learning Academy such as Mooloo who is also the Chief Facilitator, and Andira Kowlessar, Coordinator of the programme and TCL’s Customer Excellence Officer.
The training will target students enrolled in tertiary and vocational institutions as well as professionals within the industry; both government and private.
Avaleen Mooloo explained that the trainings will be divided into Level One, which is the introduction, Advanced Level, and a separate Building Technology course, which is a more practical aspect of the training, and will be taught to the students of the technical institutions.
The sessions began yesterday with the engineering students of the University of Guyana, and will end with a live call-in programme on the National Communications Network (NCN), on January 20.
In conclusion, Mooloo said that initially, Trinidad and Tobago had invested $2M towards developing a “greener” way of constructing roads.
“The aim was to enhance the quality of the roads using recycled materials.”
Mooloo added that as a result of this, researchers agreed that cement would be use in the foundation of the base layer.
“The cement is used to regenerate straight in the base layer,” she said.
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