A recent local trial has led to a new partnership between an Australian infrastructure company and a local business that will pave the way to more water savings, less dust and safer worksites across the country during times of drought.<\/p>\n
Australian infrastructure technology company Global Road Technology (GRT) last month conducted an on-site demonstration of its patented liquid polymer solution on a dirt haul road at the Napa Napa refinery. GRT sprays its solution on dirt roads and industrial areas to provide \u201cinstant roads\u201d and suppress dust on worksites. The World Health Organization recognizes airborne dust as a workplace hazard, which can cause disease, disability and death. Andr\u00e9 Morris, Managing Director of Montana Civil Constructions PNG, said he was stunned by the results. \u201cWe\u2019d trialed a few other different polymers, but they didn\u2019t do what this product does,\u201d Mr Morris said. \u201cWith the drought, we had to have security guards and roadside workers wearing dust masks literally all day long, which is bad for their health and tough on the vehicles. \u201cAn hour after this application, the workers had removed their dust masks and have continued to work without them despite hundreds of heavy vehicle movements each day. \u201cPreviously we needed to use a tanker to spray water each hour to keep down the dust. Three weeks later we still haven\u2019t had to use water and people are coming to see how we did it.\u201d Mr Morris said the company\u2019s spray tankers would not be needed for dust suppression on the road for at least three months, at which time a minor maintenance application would be applied. \u201cThe instant demand for this technology has meant we are now having to expand Montana Civil PNG\u2019s equipment and operations\u201d Mr Morris said.<\/p>\n
GRT has now signed an exclusive partnership with the Port Moresby-based company to be the exclusive PNG distributor of GRT\u2019s products which included shipment of 600 tonnes of product and a Wirtgen Wr2400 road recycling machine. Mr Morris said in addition to the safety and environmental benefits, there were financial savings as well. \u201cWe were spending 10t per litre of water for up to 40,000 litres a day, which is a substantial saving.\u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for quite a while in PNG and if I had this product four years ago I can guarantee there would be a lot more all-weather roads in the Gulf province. \u201cUsing this technology on more industrial and local government roads will be good for nearby workers, for motorists and the community at large.\u201d<\/p>\n
GRT Managing Director Troy Adams said the company\u2019s technology meant it could provide roads which would survive the wet season with minimal impact compared to dirt roads, could be built faster and cheaper than other technology such as bitumen, and were safer for workers. \u201cLocal workers should not need to wear dust masks to do their job, so we are pleased to see the improved health for workers who are already using our technology,\u201d Mr Adams said. \u201cEveryone in PNG knows the significant damage weather can cause to dirt roads, but this is proof that there are cost-effective solutions to cut dust and reduce maintenance costs, which is a win for all concerned. \u201cDelivering this project took several days, compared to other technologies which would usually have taken months.\u201d<\/p>\n
With road works contracts now coming in GRT expects to open an office in Lae and expand its laboratory and engineering division, with the opening of a Port Moresby based geo-technical laboratory in the coming months.<\/p>\n