National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said that field trials on NHAI projects for use of Phosphor-Gypsum in National Highway construction to achieve a circular economy in the use of Gypsum will be taken up.
Phosphor-Gypsum is a by-product of fertiliser production and the initiative is to encourage the use of waste material to build ecologically sustainable national highway infrastructure.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, an Indian fertilizer company has constructed a road using phosphor-gypsum. “The road was evaluated by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and based on their report, the Indian Road Congress (IRC) has accredited neutralised phosphor-gypsum waste material for road construction for a period of three years,” the Ministry said.
“The fertilizer company and CRRI have been asked to take up field trials on an NHAI project to evaluate performance of phosphor-gypsum on a National Highway and to generate confidence among various stakeholders on use of phosphor-gypsum waste material in Highway construction,” the Ministry added.
The initiative is another step of the NHAI toward keeping its commitment to encourage use of waste material to build ecologically sustainable National Highway Infrastructure.