Building the future now
In the Philippines, traffic gridlock is not just a problem in daily living. Further aggravated by road repairs and rehabilitation, the congestion challenges business operations and ultimately, economic development.
The current situation prompted the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to explore more breakthrough solutions to pave faster ways toward nationbuilding.
As such, the government agency partnered with Cemex Philippines to meet the dynamic demands of the times in more sustainable ways.
DPWH is expanding the use of Cemex’s Promptis Accelerating Admixture, an innovative pavement technology that allows newly constructed, repaired or rehabilitated roads to be opened for use after only one day of curing instead of the traditional three-day process.
On a vacant lot at the Manila Port area, Promptis’ quick drying properties were demonstrated together with another durable and cost efficient solution – the Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC).
Present in the separate concrete laying demonstration of these paving solutions were engineers and specialists from the technical teams of DPWH and some clients and contractors of Cemex Philippines.
The site demonstration is part of “Fast Forward: Promptis one- day concrete and advanced paving solutions workshop” that was jointly organized by DPWH and Cemex Philippines at the Cemex Terminal in Manila Port Harbour.
Paving faster ways
As the government embarks on some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country, innovative building materials and faster methods of construction would play critical roles in completing projects on time and with minimal disruption to daily living.
Cemex introduced Promptis to DPWH two years ago. Trials of the admixture in Limay, Bataan; Ayala Bridge, Manila; and several sections of EDSA proved the effectiveness and durability of Promptis.
In fact, during the demonstrations, it took less than 24 hours from the actual pouring to set the concrete, allowing roads to be opened to the public faster, thus easing traffic flow.
Promptis has the same characteristics as of normal concrete, but different due to its value- adding property of reaching accelerated strengths just hours after setting.
Easy to compact and finish, it has high workability retention of up to 120 minutes; hence, construction schedules can be conveniently achieved.
Sustainable alternative
Another technology that presents a sustainable alternative to conventional concrete is the Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) which is a dry and zeroslump concrete mix.
RCC is placed using a high density paver with the same design methodology and support structure as conventional concrete without the need for reinforcement bars. It also has reduced water content that leads to the concrete’s high early strength.
Building the future now
Promptis and RCC technologies reflect Cemex’s commitment to present innovative solutions that allow efficient structure development to support modern needs. “We reached this moment today because of a shared vision with the DPWH to build the future now in more efficient ways,” said Arturo Rodriguez, technical director at Cemex.
“We wanted to highlight these technologies to show that there are viable alternatives to traditional concrete. Promptis and RCC are just two of these,” added Edwin Hufemia, Cemex vice president for ready-mix and pavements. “Cemex is looking forward to coming up with more innovative building solutions to address the dynamic demands of progress.”