Japanese road construction and repair method approved in Indonesia! - Cement Asphalt Emulsion stabilizer method (CAE method) –

On October 18th, 2024, Sakai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sakai Heavy Industries)'s cement asphalt emulsion stabilizer method (hereinafter referred to as CAE method) was officially adopted as a method by the Directorate General Highways of the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works (Bina Marga). The method was approved through the "Business Demonstration Project for the Introduction of Japanese-Specification Cement Asphalt Emulsion Stabilizer Method," a small and medium-sized enterprise/SDGs business support project that JICA and the company have been carrying out since fiscal year of 2022, after preparing an application, conducting indoor tests and demonstration construction.

In Indonesia, road pavements often deteriorate prematurely, and in some cases, even newly constructed roads develop cracks in a short period of time. Under these circumstances, further maintenance and quality improvement of road infrastructure is desired in the future. The company's CAE construction method adds cement and asphalt emulsion to the roadbed, the lower part of the pavement, to give it “flexibility” and “rigidity,” thereby creating a highly durable roadbed. It is expected to be excellent technology to extend the life of road pavements.

This method has been utilized in Japan since the 1980s and has proven to be an environmentally friendly technology that can reduce the use of new materials by effectively utilizing old materials in road construction. Therefore, this method has the potential to become one of the new options for road reconstruction and repair in Indonesia.
Regarding this method, the "2024 First CAE Method Standardization Project Seminar" was held at the PT SAKAI INDONESIA factory in Cikarang in August 2024. In addition to a detailed explanation of the JICA project and a report on the introduction and standardization process of the CAE method, a demonstration was given with an actual machine, and the road stabilizer "PM550-S" was also introduced. Participants from the government, public-private construction companies, and universities are very interested in the effective of CAE method for improving roadbed improvement, which is the basis of road maintenance and repair work, and construction efficiency.

Sakai Heavy Industries has also prepared a special provisional specification (Spesifikasi Khusus) as an application document required for standardization, which is expected to become the standard for the use of this CAE method in Indonesia, especially in efficient and sustainable road rehabilitation and restoration. As a result, the CAE method has been approved as an IRBACE (In-situ Recycled Base with Cement and Asphalt Emulsion) method.

It is expected that this method will be applied to the construction and reconstruction of national roads in Indonesia in the future.