Ukravtodor is going to increase the use of slag in road construction

The State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine, Ukravtodor, proposes to systematically increase the use of industrial waste, including metallurgical slags, in road construction in 2021–2025.

The Agency has published the relevant draft Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the adoption of the Concept of the State target economic program for the construction of public roads with cement concrete pavement for 2021–2025.

According to the document, the use of industrial waste, including metallurgical slags as well as ash and slag waste, as aggregates for cement concrete mixtures will improve the environmental friendliness of road construction.

An increase in the share of roads with cement concrete pavement up to 30% will also be facilitated by:

• clear-cut mechanisms for financing road repair and construction from the state and oblast budgets;
• exploration of new opportunities for road construction based on advanced energy- and resource saving materials and technologies.

This approach will enhance the country’s transit potential, increase the level of localization and reduce imports dependence, improve industrial waste management, create new jobs, and encourage an effective use of budget funds in road construction.

The European Business Association (EBA) has announced its support for Ukravtodor’s proposal, but calls on to finalize the text of the document taking into account the following three points:

• add industrial by-products/secondary raw materials to the list of materials that can be used in road construction;
• specify the possibility of financing the program at the expense of the State Road Fund;
• prioritize the use of secondary raw materials as aggregates in cement concrete mixtures and road base layers.

As reported earlier, Ukravtodor has already used 100 thousand cubic meters of slag in the construction of roads under the Big Construction program. The Agency intends to use about 500 thousand cubic meters of industrial waste until the end of 2020.

In February, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine officially recommended increasing the use of metallurgical slag in road construction. Priority areas for the application of metallurgical slag-based construction technologies are Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad oblasts.

According to estimations of GMK Center, Ukraine has the potential to increase at least fivefold the use of slag in road construction. There are around 430 thousand km of roads in the country. If at least 3 thousand km are annually repaired (around 0.6% of their total length), consumption of slag will increase to at least 5 million tons, a five-fold increase from now.