Tanroads Coast regional manager Eng. Upendo Mshana made the call over the weekend when she inspected the Visegese pilot project in Kisarawe District.
“We have received this technology and see how effective it is to our pilot project, therefore we would like to advise the government to increase budget so that we can adopt this technology in most of our roads, as it is easy and uses a short period of times,” she said, adding that the technology can be installed in all weather conditions.
Eng. Mshana also highlighted that though the Weholite technology is expensive compared to the concrete culverts its affordability comes from time and durability.
“We spent 85m/- when installing three Weholite technologies at Visegese Bridge, but it was at the peak of the raining season with floods and we managed and also spent one week to finish it and return communications,” she emphasized.
For his part, Director of the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA) Kibaha, Abdul Digaga said the agency has started using the technology in some of its projects insisting that this time the government set aside more funds for its roads.
Digaga also said that the technology is effective for emergency purposes in rural areas because of its quick installation and flexibility to withstand high loads.
“We are planning to set funds in our projects so that we can be able to use this technology in our culverts and other projects especially in highly emergency needs,” he stressed, adding: “We’re now looking at how we can include the ministry and experts in order to adopt Weholite in our projects.”
“TARURA believes that in fighting against various disasters like floods it is a must to have solutions like this technology because concrete culverts are expensive compared to Weholite technology,” he stated
He gave an example that Weholite culverts are 30 percent less compared to concrete culverts whereby the completion of a structure is constructed for 100m/-, then it can be completed with only 70m/- by using Weholite technology.
Plasco Ltd chief operating officer, Alimiya Osman said Weholite technology is an alternative for concrete culverts in roads and railways culverts construction because it is lightweight, tolerant to ground movement and easy to handle.
“The world is changing and hence we should change by adopting the latest technologies because it saves time and money,” he encouraged, adding that while using concrete culverts, there is a need to complete some processes for it to be installed but Weholite doesn’t need time to dry compared to concrete which uses cement.
Osman underscored that a contractor can spend from 3 to 4 weeks in putting concrete culverts, something which needs money and time but with Weholite a contractor can save time and money by taking only a day or even a week to finish the project.
He mentioned that during disasters where communications are destroyed and special and economic activities stop, Weholite can be the best solution in restoring those activities.
“As a company, we are incredibly proud to think that we can contribute to a better Tanzania, by helping to build our nation on world-class infrastructure such as Weholite,” he intoned.
Plasco Limited Weholite technology expert, Simon Thomas described the technology as flexible, superior hydraulic design and properties, also with good chemical and abrasion resistance with ranges of ring stiffness.
“The technology has been successfully used and adopted into national standards across countries such as the United Kingdom, USA, Sweden and Finland,” he asserted, insisting that the Weholite systems are well known for introducing efficiency and best value to projects, especially when compared to traditional methods of construction such as concrete pipes and boxes.
Opening the one-day seminar held in Kibaha town, Gaspar Ojoro representing the Director of Roads at the Ministry of Works said the Weholite technology is environmental friendly because it uses plastics which are wasted hence recycled and used to manufacture plastic culverts.
The seminar organized by Plasco Limited with the aim of discussing the adoption and inclusion of Weholite HDPE structured wall pipe technology into the design manuals for road infrastructure was attended by the managers and engineers of TARURA and TANROADS from the 26 regions.
Ojoro also said that due to climate change, Weholite technology is good for emergency response therefore should be applied in various regions in the country.
Source: IPP Media