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by Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Sept 7: The Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu is set to lead the way by using slag materials made of ferroalloy to construct roads leading to and inside the industrial park.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas announced that employing slag materials from ferroalloy was one of the options under consideration, alongside waste materials from processed recycled rubber and recycled plastic, as potential building materials for road construction within the industrial park.
“We find this option very interesting since the Samalaju Industrial Park currently has a stockpile of slag from the ferroalloy industries amounting to 1,000,000 metric tons,” he revealed.
Uggah made these remarks while officiating at the Road Construction Seminar titled “Revolutionizing Road and Airport Infrastructure: Exploring Cutting Edge Technologies, Innovative & Recycled Materials, and Real-World Applications,” held at the Imperial Hotel today.
As the Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, Uggah shared that companies like Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd alone produce 180,000 metric tons of slag each year, which is currently categorised as scheduled waste.
To explore this possibility further, Uggah stated, “I have directed my ministry and the Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak to collaborate on a study to develop guidelines for using slag as road construction material.”
He emphasized that Sarawak is considering this as a potential material after his recent visit to Japan, where he learned about the road technology management of Chiba Prefecture’s Land Development Department of the Construction Management Division.
“We were there to learn about Chiba Prefecture’s road technology management. They are experienced in using recycled industrial by-products from industries for their road construction,” Uggah explained.
“One of the materials that they have been using for years is the slag from iron smelting plants in the vicinity, which complies with the stringent Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) A 5015.”
The seminar also saw the presence of key figures such as JKR Sarawak director Richard Tajan, Hock Seng Lee Berhad executive director Simon Lau, and Institute Engineering Malaysia Sarawak chairman Stephanie Sim. — DayakDaily
