India's first road constructed from steel slag inaugurated in Surat

Surat, Jun 16: Union Minister of Steel Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has inaugurated the first 6-lane highway made by using Steel Slag at Surat to connect the port with the city. Speaking on this occasion, he emphasized promoting a circular economy and resource efficiency by converting all waste into wealth.

He said that Prime Minister Modi had made a special reference to promoting a circular economy as the world is witnessing depletion of natural resources during his Independence Day speech in 2021. In such a scenario, a circular economy is the need of the hour and needs to be made mandatory as a part of our lives.

Mr. Singh said that the road constructed with 100 percent use of steel processed slag is a real example of converting waste into wealth and improving the sustainability of steel plants. The use of such material in road construction shall not only increase life but also help in reducing the cost of construction as slag-based materials have better properties than natural aggregates. The experience gained from this road shall be utilized for developing detailed guidelines for the widespread usage of steel slag in construction.

Union Steel Minister said that his Ministry is exploring various options to utilize such materials in road construction, agriculture as a replacement for soil nutrients and fertilizers, ballast for railways and making green cement. The Steel Ministry has already awarded several Research and Development projects on the utilization of different types of slags which are being considered a liability. Mr. Singh is on a two-day visit to Surat from today. He will visit Diamond Bourse and Diamond factory and participate in an interactive session with secondary steel producers and steel consumers.