SHU Nishiyama, CEO of Japanese company IKEE Group Japan, has expressed an interest in importing waste processing machinery into Cambodia to incorporate waste plastics into asphalt concrete (AC).
This new initiative could open new opportunities for the development of road infrastructure in the Kingdom, in a way that lives up to Japanese quality and other standards.
The plan was revealed on January 25 at a meeting held at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport between minister Sun Chanthol and a delegation of Japanese firms led by Nishiyama and accompanied by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) experts, with leaders and officials from relevant ministries in attendance.
Nishiyama acquainted the meeting with the technology, billing it as a suitable method for paving strong, waterproof and durable roads, given the rainfall and other variables in Cambodia, according to a statement from the public works ministry.
The minister advised the company to look into all of the particulars carefully before importing the technology, noting that waste in the Kingdom is largely unsorted by type and could pose hurdles in garbage collection and processing.
Chanthol also asked the firm to conduct detailed studies on the amount of waste plastics in Cambodia that could viably be used for processing as well as the possible environmental impact resulting from the project, as compared to the use of rubberised concrete.
He also cautioned that the cost of the end-product should not exceed the price of AC currently in use.
Still, he voiced support for the initiative, which he said could support the maintenance of a clean environment.
