The provincial administrative organisation of Trang is using natural rubber in local road construction to help increase demand and boost prices paid to farmers.
Kij Leekpai, president of the Trang provincial administrative organisation, said on Friday that natural rubber would form 10% of raw materials to build the 800-metre-long Na Muen Sri-Tham Khao Chang Hai road in Na Yong district.
Studies showed that natural rubber could form 8-10% of an asphaltic road and the planned road would be a model project that other local administrative organisations could study and then follow suit. This would lift demand, help raise natural rubber prices and benefit growers, Mr Kij said.
The Trang provincial administrative organisation would meet the additional construction costs of such rubber roads, and the contribution would be worthwhile if it helped rubber growers, Mr Kij said.
including natural rubber in asphaltic roads would increase the cost by about 10%, but it would extend the lifetime of such roads by about two years beyond standard 100% asphalt roads, he said.
The Trang provincial administrative organisation has allocated 300 million baht to fund the building of rubber roads over a combined distance of 80 kilometres in Trang, he said.
The PAO would pay 60% of the construction cost while administrative organisations at sub-district and municipal levels would pay the rest, he said.
The Trang provincial administrative organisation also promoted the use of natural rubber in the construction of futsal pitches and children's playgrounds, and supported the production of therapeutic shoes for diabetics with foot disease, known as diabetic shoes, to save people the cost of expensive imported shoes and inserts, Mr Kij said.