T

he city administration is considering using recycled material from damaged roads to reduce the city's expenditure on road repair work.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said central hot-plant recycling, the concept proposed by state-run firm PT Pembangunan Jaya, could save the city about 25 percent of its budget compared to repairing roads the conventional way.

"In this new scheme, we will recycle used asphalt or other materials from damaged roads. Normally, we strip the asphalt and other materials used to build roads and dump them," he said.

He admitted buying the equipment to recycle the peeled layers of asphalt might be "a bit expensive".

"But, overall, the scheme can reduce the cost of repairing roads.

"It is also more environmentally friendly," he added.

Prijanto claimed the quality of roads built using recycled materials would be the same as those built the conventional way.

This year, the administration has allocated Rp 400 billion (US$37 million) to repair damaged roads across the capital.

Prijanto said the recycling scheme would only apply to ordinary roads, not roads used by heavy-weight vehicles.

PT Pembangunan Jaya, which reports to the Public Works Ministry, previously applied this recycling concept to roads along Semarang and Pekalongan, in Central Java.

Prijanto said the city public works agency would study the system first before adopting it.

Damaged roads have become a big problem for Jakartans using the city's 7,700 kilometers of roads, contributing to chronic traffic snarls. The conditions usually worsen during the wet season, especially when heavy rains flood the roads, creating puddles and potholes.

The city police reported damaged roads sometimes caused fatal accidents.

"We are aiming for this scheme to be one of our five-year term project, which means we have to ask for City Council approval *to proceed*," he said.