New asphalt factory to meet UAE demand

A company has pressed ahead with the development of a new asphalt factory despite the global economic crisis and the slowdown in the construction sector.

The project – which will double the firm's production capacity – is intended to meet future demand resulting from government-funded road projects in the UAE.

"We have set up a new asphalt factory in Sharjah that can produce 120 tonnes of asphalt per hour and supply 45,000 tonnes per month for road projects in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and other emirates," Syed Ali Abad, owner of RAD International Road Contractors, told Emirates Business.

"Even though there is talk of a construction slowdown the company plans to double its production capacity to 90,000 tonnes per month because demand for road construction in the UAE will continue to grow.

"As road and other infrastructure projects are normally funded by government bodies and municipalities they are not much affected by the economic crisis or tight liquidity. We already have many large road projects in the UAE and the demand for asphalt will increase.

"There are currently two other suppliers in Dubai producing asphalt using bitumen from the GCC refineries and Iranian companies. Ready asphalt is produced by processing bitumen, a byproduct of oil refineries, with aggregates from the UAE mountains."

A leading bitumen supplier in the UAE said the road construction sector had been affected only marginally by the slowdown.

Road contractors are complaining about the high price of bitumen in the international market. A source said: "The price of a tonne of bitumen has risen from Dh1,400 per tonne to Dh3,000. Even though bitumen is a byproduct of the oil industry the sharp fall in the oil price from $147 to $40 has not been reflected in the price of bitumen."

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