Cement industry calls for more concrete roads in M’sia

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Malaysia should have more concrete roads, as it is more cost-effective in the medium to long term compared to asphalt ones, according to the local cement and concrete industry.

The call was made by outgoing Lafarge Malaysia president and CEO Bradley Mulroney, who was asked about the industry’s wish for Budget 2016 by The Star.

“We would like to see more concrete roads in Malaysia as it is competitive in usage as well as cost. Concrete roads are particularly suitable for rural and flood-prone areas as they are more durable. The promotion on this is also in line with the effort to support homegrown industries such as ours,” he told reporters at the celebration of the Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia’s 50th anniversary.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who officiated the event and coffee table book launch, said that concrete roads were more durable than asphalt roads and also required less maintenance. “They also contribute to our economy as the raw materials are produced locally as opposed to bitumen for asphalt roads,” he said.

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“A portion of the central spine road linking Gua Musang to Kuala Lipis was built using the continuous reinforced concrete pavement technology, thanks to the association. It is a cause I continue to support until today,” the minister said, adding that the industry accounted for 4% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Concrete roads make up less than 1% of Malaysian roads due to the lack of awareness.

In June, the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Malaysian Rubber Board signed a Memorandum of Agreement to undertake joint research in the use of the frozen rubber “cup lumps” as an additional material in asphalt. Rubberised roads have a longer lifespan compared to normal tarmac.

The move to include rubber in roads was hailed as good news for the rubber industry, and is expected to boost domestic demand for rubber by 10% annually.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Guess they forgot to mention how noisy they are or the fact that natural grip levels plunge when it rains with the present technology…

    Perhaps for slower speed federal roads but not for highways or ring roads… I guess if you are from that industry, your bound to advocate it. the rubber infused roads seem like the better idea IMO

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 53 Thumb down 1
    • Cement for non-highway roads. Much lower cost to maintain.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 37 Thumb down 0
      • Thank you UMNO on Oct 22, 2015 at 12:01 pm

        This will be done because Cement factories are all UMNO linked companies. See the shareholders, mostly UMNO members who hold big positions.

        So, Gomen sure to approve this for the big UMNO boys to make even more money from the rakyat’s coffers.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 33
        • You will be suprised who actually owns the cement industry and they are not by majority race either ;-)

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 39 Thumb down 3
          • Wisdom on Oct 22, 2015 at 2:49 pm

            Asphalt vs cement vs rubber

            When will they start using our naturally linked places using waterways?

            Obviously all rivers, sewers and canal has been enlarged, even in KL areas, to tackle flood problems. Why not optimizing these waterways to reduce traffic jams e.g KL to Shah Alam, Klang, Sepang.

            Imagine owning a private boat and ride daily to office, with some shops and R&R along d way. Seems interesting.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
          • How can! If Puchongites have LDP equivalent river, then those tauke’s uberbarges will block all the other sampans from moving smoothly, thereby creating a watery version of LDP jam!

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
        • Rooney on Oct 22, 2015 at 1:11 pm

          That would be YTL, Lafarge, Sunway…

          Yeap, that’s pretty much the top producers.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
        • namanama on Oct 22, 2015 at 2:56 pm

          Get your facts right 1st “Thank you UMNO”.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • In case you are not aware, there is actually a fair stretch of concrete pavement on NSE/NKVE where everyone is speeding without an issue.

      Developed countries like the US and Australia have long been using concrete pavement for interstate or major highways. I think this is all about perception.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Nonsense Logic on Oct 22, 2015 at 10:44 am

    “concrete roads were more durable than asphalt roads and also required less maintenance.”

    Less maintenance means:
    – less repair, maintenance jobs for road contractors
    – less instant mee road projects especially right before election night

    Conclusion: Better keep asphalt roads. Or else many contractors close shop and losing more votes.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 16 Thumb down 6
    • Dont be an idiot if you havent driven on a concrete stretch road before. Just like a commenter posted above, there are other cons which relate to safety. Maybe thats the main reason it is not widespread use.
      Might I add also those stretches are noisy and bumpy as hell. I can never go more than 100kmph without feeling jarring on the road.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 3
    • less maintenance, more money on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:33 am

      less rakyat money spend to contractor. Rakyat happy.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 3
  • Before ya’ll whine let me be the first to tell you that other countries have been using concrete roads (mainly in highways) for decades. It is however noisier and the roads do need channels for rain water to flow. But it is very very very low maintenance

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 1
    • Please name the countries and name the roads that were built with it. Good also to provide statistic how much % of concrete road that countries have. Thank you.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
  • Rooney on Oct 22, 2015 at 10:47 am

    Wouldn’t be surprised if brick industry also calls for more brick roads in Malaysia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 0
  • Not to mention that it would drive up cement price, pissing off the property developers in this country, driving up real estate prices and hurting the economy…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 0
  • joyah on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:00 am

    The Rubber infused road seems promising .. the Concrete road should be use for housing area.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 0
  • frossonice on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:00 am

    No.. Just no!

    Acceptable on city streets but really annoying on highways. Even godcars will suffer in NVH on cement roads.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 0
  • Offroader on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:03 am

    cement on estate road for Palm oil estate is far better than gravel

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • Hero malaya on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:20 am

    What ever the road is made of,toll is still hike!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 2
  • ting ting…this is a three way fight WWE style. Rubber industry cronnies vs Cement cronnies vs asphalt cronnies. End of the day, monies spend for below par quality.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • Billy The Fish on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:34 am

    As President of the Malaysian Gold Trader’s Association, I’d like to propose solid gold roads in Malaysia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 29 Thumb down 0
    • u funny lar bro !

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
    • eeeriz on Oct 22, 2015 at 3:41 pm

      Solid gold road is very much slippery! Plus potentially and high likely theft during daytime or night time.. not recommended. :)

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • LOL at the amount of people on the emergency lane

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
  • Visitor on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:59 am

    My first long distance travel on a concrete highway was an unpleasant one – noisy. By the time we reached the asphalt section, the noise just went away. Perhaps concrete can be used on suburban/residential streets for slow traffic. Leave open roads and high speed motorways be made from asphalt.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • Do you know how noisy driving on concrete road?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 2
    • Silencer on Oct 22, 2015 at 12:32 pm

      Work hard and buy Lexus car. Very quiet and superior soundproof.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 7
      • Merc cool on Oct 28, 2015 at 11:01 pm

        Silencer, dont be so arrogant, no matter what we do, there are always rich n poor people in this world. There are things we (rich n poor) share eg the road, it is the responsible of gov to give convenient to all, mind you that tmr is a new day, u might be destined to be poor n lost your valuable, be kind in words n heart

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Material concrete banyak menyebabkan tayar kereta cepat botak. Dengan ekonomi yang teruk. GST lagi. Hal ini lagi membebankan rakyat malaysia dari segi keperluan dan kehendak. Hal ini nampak kecil. Tapi bagi kesan buruk kepada kemampuan masing2.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Might As Well Lah on Oct 22, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    And the next thing they’ll suggest is rubberized-asphalt on reinforced-concrete roads for durability, comfort and safety (like flyovers)… But then completely forget about manholes and occasional piping and wiring reworks and then they will suggest manhole-tunnels for wiring, piping, sewerage and drainage under the to be rebuild roads again (like lrt tracks with asphalt)… So they can songlap mega-sums of money over and over again…

    I’m not against better quality roads with high durability, My only problem is reworking on the same roads for things that could have been planned earlier, a little foresight and cooperation between affected parties. Wishful thinking… Sigh…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
  • andrekua on Oct 22, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    Damn. Why Malaysian companies always like to do something out of ordinary? If you have abundance of unsold cement, lower the price so that the cost savings would be passed on to consumers.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • 4G63T DSM on Oct 22, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    There is nothing wrong with concrete or asphalt roads.

    Asphalt roads can be long lasting if it was actually built properly. And we all know how corners (erh…. thickness) is cut.

    The other matter is proper enforcement of weight restriction on HGV and transports.

    As many have already hinted. Build a road that last forever, how to keep some people fed?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • azrai on Oct 22, 2015 at 3:59 pm

    The cement industry also urged to fill the head of every minister in Malaysia with concrete since they cannot even utilised their brain to fix our economy or even how to answer without stupidity.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • rigid pavement is not cheap and expensive to repair.. mana boleh tampal2 macam asphalt, even more its noisy and slippery.. much better to find a solution to increase asphalt lifespan..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • transformer on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:53 pm

    there a whole stretch of 10KM concrete road that i need to goes thru daily and these are weaknesses that i found:
    1) Noisy & jarring ride
    2) Wear off tyre, even mis-align tyre in long run
    3) Reduce Shock Absorber life span
    4) Slippery when its rain, increase chance to aqua-plan
    5) Increase braking distant

    1 affect passenger comfort
    2 & 3 increase TCO
    4 & 5 safety issues

    I definitely thumb down at this proposal.

    Also, i urge this Gov to reduce cement price, housing price are so so high! wage earner that earns 3.5K per month cant afford to buy house(after deduct food, car loans, parkings, water and electricity bills, mobile plans & streamyx).

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Doesnt work that way, biggest crony will get the contract, asphalt or concrete is irrelevant.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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