Holcim stabilization technology used in SEA Games facility

The seven-hectare parking lot of the 2,000-seat Aquatic Center in New Clark City is the largest project to use Holcim’s soil stabilization technology. The innovative building solution helps prevent durability issues and delays caused by inclement weather so it can be available in time of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Soil stabilization technology, one of the innovative construction approaches Holcim Philippines, Inc. has introduced to improve local building in the country, is used for new facilities being readied for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in New Clark City.

Contractors used soil stabilization technology to build the seven-hectare parking lot for the 2,000-seat Aquatic Center in Capas, Tarlac, which will host several water events for the SEA Games.

A common practice outside the country, soil stabilization is done to make the base sturdier and less prone to erosion caused by inclement weather. This allows builders to avoid durability issues that cause delays and reworks. The technology can also help contractors manage costs as it lessens the need to replace existing ground with more suitable base materials from another location.

Over a thousand tons of Holcim binders were utilized by partner Rapid Road Stabilizers, Inc. to stabilize the ground for the parking area and help it meet the October deadline for project.

Holcim Philippines Head of Infrastructure John Edward Reyes said the project enables the company to further show the advantages of soil stabilization especially during rainy season.

“This is the biggest project thus far to use soil stabilization technology. We are confident it will deliver the promised benefits which will support our efforts to make the technology more widely used in the country,” he said.

Holcim Philippines is currently working with the Department of Public Works and Highways-Bureau of Research Standards for the accreditation of its soil stabilization technology in government road projects. The technology, which it introduced in 2017, has proven effective in delivering cost and time savings to several private road and pavement projects.

Soil stabilization technology is part of Holcim Philippines’s continuing thrust to provide innovative offerings to help local builders amid the construction boom. In March, it launched Solido, a blended cement alternative for infrastructure applications that has superior performance over Ordinary Portland Cement in durability, strength and environmental footprint . The company also introduced its one-day concrete solution SuperfastCrete in 2016, which is now being used for repairs of major urban highways.