Road restorations are underway in Arima as a result of a partnership between the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, Trinidad Cement Limited, and CEMEX Limited.
This public-private partnership will benefit drivers using Race Course Road in Arima.
Nibs – a waste product in the manufacturing of cement – are now being utilised to repair roads across the country.
Commercial Coordinator at Trinidad Cement Limited, Avaleen Mooloo, described the product as cost-effective and durable.
“This collaboration was to find a durable, low-cost technology that can work for road repairs localised to potholes and areas that we saw deformation. So we do have a by-product that we refer to as nibs that is part of our processing at the quarry, which we utilise with the support of cement, and we would have stabilised the base material, which is placed already and compacted. Then after three days it has been standing up quite well.”
Ms. Mooloo added that nibs have a long lifespan if maintained well.
“We typically design these roads as progressive, which means that when you have a stronger base, you can go with a thinner surface. So typically our cement-treated base roads or concrete roads would last a minimum lifespan of 20 years once it is properly maintained.”
Member of Parliament for Malabar/Mausica, Dominic Romain, welcomed the initiative and remains hopeful that more collaboration with private entities in the constituency will lead to job opportunities and community development.
“As you know, Malabar/Mausica is perhaps one of the more prominent commercial hubs in the East. This is just one of the areas where we have corporate constituents. We have across the road two industrial areas with a number of companies that we hope to partner with, and I’m hoping that coming out of this exercise that it wouldn’t be just road rehabilitation, but that we could lean on these companies for the provision of employment as well as community development.”
Chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, Josiah Austin, said other areas will also benefit from the repairs.