ConcretesRecommended forRoadConstructions

To build lasting roads and in keeping up with global best practices in road construction, Head, Road Segment, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Femi Yusuff, has recommended using concrete road technology as the way forward. Consequently, he submitted that that cement manufacturing companies have embarked on concrete road projects in some parts of the country in order to put Nigeria on the global map of countries using concrete roads to boost their economy and productivity. “With over 40 million metric tonnes of cement being produced locally by the three key producers (Lafarge, Dangote, BUA) the country now has enough cement capacity for concrete road projects,” he said. He noted that Lafarge, for instance, has implemented some concrete road projects in three Nigerian cities: Calabar, Osogbo and Gombe. He said: “We have done a 7.5km Lafarge-Unicem Evacuation Road, Calabar; N700 million 8km road in Maiganga, Gombe State, through our subsidiary, Ashaka Cement; a 20 kilometer Oban road linking Calabar – Cameroun road at Mfamosing, and a road project in Oshogbo, Osun State. Asphalt is fine but has capacity to tear and wear within two to three years and to be reconstructed after 15 years; Concrete roads is more expensive, about 10-15 per cent expensive than asphalt, but in the long-term, it is better and cheaper because it last for 30 years and requires little or no maintenance compared to asphalt that last for an average of 15 years.”