The UAE has embarked on a innnovative eco-friendly path to build the country's infrastructure by using asphalt concrete mixed with crumb rubber and used tyres to build public roads.

The two-month pilot project, which is a first-of- its-kind in the UAE, is being implemented in cooperation with French tyre maker Michelin.

The Ministry of Infrastructure Development launched the experimental stage of a project that will use a mix of recycled rubber asphalt to build public roads, as part of its efforts to achieve sustainability, promote innovation, encourage recycling, and create a national green road network.

Rubber asphalt is pavement material that consists of regular asphalt concrete mixed with crumb rubber and used tyres, said a statement from the ministry.

A specialist team will test a mixture of asphalt and recycled rubber, with the aim of developing an asphalt mix, according to the best national standards that can be used for future road construction projects, it stated.

Engineer Aisha Al Midfa, the assistant under-secretary of the Infrastructure Planning Sector at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, pointed out that the project highlighted the ministrys commitment to sustainability, and was part of its efforts to build a green road network in the UAE, to create a sustainable environment and infrastructure.

"The project reflects the ministrys keenness to achieve sustainability, and focuses on the close work between the public and private sectors, while noting the ministrys keenness to keep pace with the countrys strategic directives," she stated.

The ministrys cooperation with the private sector, especially with Michelin, in constructing environmentally-friendly and sustainable roads will reduce noise pollution and the need for maintenance, as well as waste production and carbon emissions, through using recycled materials instead of traditional bitumen-based asphalt, she added.

Naser Shashaa, the regional director of Michelin in the Middle East, stressed the companys commitment to achieving sustainability and preserving the environment, through implementing its 4 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Renewable, 4R Strategy.-TradeArabia News Service

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