THAILAND: Trang provincial body pushes latex for roads

In a bid to boost low rubber prices, the Trang provincial administration organization (PAO) is encouraging construction contractors to use a mixture of asphalt and latex in building roads.

The PAO on 24 Dec 2015 hosted a seminar of about 300 construction firms from Trang and nearby provinces to discuss the innovative use of natural rubber at a time of low demand.

PAO president Kij Leekpai said using a mixture of asphalt and latex would be cheaper than the standard process with the added benefit of the roads being more durable. The same mixture could also be more easily used for road repairs. It would also help local rubber growers who are now suffering from record-low market prices for rubber. Kij said many companies already produce a commercial mixture of asphalt and latex so it is readily available. He said in 2015, the Trang PAO had used 10,223 kilogrammes of the mixture on 28 roads. It plans to do the same with another 49 roads with a total length of 36.6 kilometres in 2016, which would require buying 78,951kg of latex with an allocated budget of 134 million baht. Many construction contractors at the seminar expressed an interest in the idea, Kij said.

Source: Daily “The Bangkok Post”, Bangkok; 24 Dec 2015
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)