More rubber will be used in the construction of roads to help deal with an excess supply of the material, Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt says.
Workers show how to make the road surface containing rubber in Don Muang on Friday. Photo by Apichit Jinakul
Mr Chadchart said on Friday he had ordered the Highways Department to study the feasibility of mixing rubber with asphalt to use in road surfacing.
The study would be in line with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's policy to tackle the excess supply of rubber, he said.
If rubber is used as a raw material in road construction, it will increase demand for rubber in the country, the minister said.
The rubber mixture would also improve the durability of road surfaces, he added.
"Each year, the department uses about 1,200 tonnes of rubber to mix with asphalt for use in road surfaces," Mr Chadchart said.
"In the future, the amount of rubber will increase to 10,000 tonnes per year and this will lead to higher market prices."
The Highways Department recently used a rubber-asphalt mixture to surface a road in Nakhon Nayok province as part of a pilot project.
The road, built more than six months ago, is tested regularly.
Testing has showed the addition of rubber into the surface mixture has made the road more durable than standard asphalt.
Asphalt roads have a typical lifespan of about seven years, while the addition of rubber can add about a year to their longevity, Mr Chadchart said.
The minister said he was also considering using rubber in the construction of railway sleepers, noting there were several electric and double-track railway projects slated for the near future.
Highways Department research office director Montri Dechasakulsom said the department had used rubber in the construction of roads for about 10 years.
He said the use of rubber pushes up the cost of road construction by about 15-18%.