West Africa’s biggest bitumen plant

July saw the ceremonial sod cutting for a project to build West Africa’s biggest bitumen plant: a joint venture between Ghana’s oil company GOIL and Societe Multinationale de Bitumes (SMB) of the Ivory Coast. The project, which will cost around US$35 million according to GOIL, is in Tema Ghana. With a capacity of 8,000tonnes, it will produce AC10 and AC20 bitumen and polymer modified bitumen (PMB). Speaking at the ceremony, Ghana’s minister of energy John Peter Amewu said: “Due to the success of the PMB
September 19, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
July saw the ceremonial sod cutting for a project to build West Africa’s biggest bitumen plant: a joint venture between Ghana’s oil company GOIL and Societe Multinationale de Bitumes (SMB) of the Ivory Coast. The project, which will cost around US$35 million according to GOIL, is in Tema Ghana. With a capacity of 8,000tonnes, it will produce AC10 and AC20 bitumen and polymer modified bitumen (PMB).


Speaking at the ceremony, Ghana’s minister of energy John Peter Amewu said: “Due to the success of the PMB, which is proven to give a longer lifespan to asphalted roads, the Ghana Highways Authority also plans to continue using it for all major highways resurfacing or construction in the country.”

Ghana’s road network of over 63,000km needs repair and modernisation. According to management consultants Investigroup, which has an office in Ghana, a rehabilitation programme of $1.5 billion/year for the next ten years would be needed to get the roads up to a good standard.

Materials

Related Content

  • Bitumen technology: from potholes to PMB plants
    November 21, 2014
    This month we look at how warm mix is helping to pave dirt roads, a new way to tackle potholes, and bring news of a new distribution centre for the UK - Kristina Smith reports The creation of a new mix design, incorporating MWV’s warm mix additive Evotherm, is providing cost-effective solutions for dirt roads in the US’s Charleston County. The first stretch to be paved with the new porous paving in April this year, Joseph White Road in the town of Adams Run, resulted in the estimated US$1.1 million construc
    Read More
  • Durability is crucial while warm mix technology can help disaster recovery
    February 21, 2013
    Why durability is crucial for both emerging and developed economies, and how warm mix technology can help disaster recovery - Kristina Smith reports. When CORE Construction, a 100% owned Ghanaian company, started working on road construction projects five years ago, it was difficult to source the right bituminous mixes. “In the past, most construction firms had a number of challenges when it came to bituminous works, since the local capacity was not well-developed,” said CORE CEO Frank Lartey. CORE’s soluti
    Read More
  • Demand is changing in the bitumen market
    August 22, 2013
    The supply and demand for bitumen around the world is changing; refineries, suppliers and contractors must all make changes too - Kristina Smith reports These are interesting times for those supplying and buying bitumen. Almost every part of the picture is in flux: global demand is shifting dramatically; major suppliers are following demand; refineries are closing down or stopping production of bitumen. “In Europe and globally there is a very big chain of events happening,” said Bernd Schmidt, CEO o
    Read More
  • Bitumen tech: innovation for decarbonisation
    June 4, 2024
    Kristina Smith examines four new products and processes, including bio-bitumen produced from algae, designed to lower the carbon footprint of asphalt mixes.
    Read More

Highlighted Content