Shri Gadkariji : Here is way to improve your Ministry's REPORT CARD

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Urgent Action Required: 

COLAS Recycled Asphalt Technology Can Shield India's Roads from Bitumen Crisis

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Respected Shri Gadkariji,

Namaskar.

I write to you with a sense of urgency, as a concerned citizen deeply invested in

the future of India's infrastructure.

As widely reported in the Times of India and across national media, the ongoing

 West Asia conflict has triggered a serious shortage of bitumen — the lifeblood of

 India's 6.37 million kilometres of road network. 

With global crude oil supply chains under severe stress and bitumen prices

surging 15–20%, road construction and maintenance projects across the country

are stalling. 

 The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram alone has seen Rs 75 crore worth of

 projects grind to a halt. Hot mix plants are shutting down.

 Monsoon is approaching. The consequences for millions of road users are

alarming.

 

Sir, 

This crisis demands an urgent, innovative, and structurally transformative

response — not a temporary fix.

I would like to draw your attention to a world-class solution already proven at

industrial scale: COLAS Group's Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) technology.

COLAS, the global road construction leader operating in 50+ countries, has built

an asphalt plant in Horsens, Denmark that incorporates up to 34% Recycled

Asphalt Pavement (RAP) into new asphalt mixes — dramatically reducing

dependence on virgin bitumen. This is not experimental. Commissioned in 2021,

the Horsens facility has scaled production from 1,80,000 to 3,07,000 tonnes

annually, while simultaneously cutting bitumen consumption and lowering carbon

emissions.

Key highlights of the COLAS RAP model:

• Up to 34% of asphalt mixes made from reclaimed pavement materials — directly

  reducing bitumen demand

• Proven reduction in raw material costs and supply chain vulnerability

• Full quality control through laboratory analysis and mix design optimisation

• Supports circular economy principles: old Indian roads become the raw material

  for new ones

• Complements India's existing road milling operations under NHAI and state

  PWDs

• Scalable and transferable through a licensing agreement to Indian industry

  players

India mills thousands of kilometres of old road surfaces every year. Today, much of

this milled material is wasted or stockpiled. With a COLAS RAP licensing

agreement, this waste becomes a strategic national resource.

Sir, I respectfully urge the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to:

1. Initiate immediate contact with COLAS Group (https://www.colas.com) to

explore a technology licensing and transfer agreement for RAP-enabled asphalt

plants across India.

2. Direct NHAI and NHIDCL to pilot RAP-based asphalt production at 3–5 high-

   traffic corridors as a national demonstration project.

3. Frame a national policy framework incentivising RAP content in all government

 road contracts — modelled on Denmark's regulatory approach that has made it a

 world leader in asphalt recycling.

The West Asia crisis has exposed a deep structural vulnerability in India's road

 building ecosystem. COLAS RAP technology offers a practical, economically sound,

 and environmentally responsible pathway out of it.

Your visionary leadership has already transformed India's highways. This is an

 opportunity to make India's roads not just world-class in length, but world-leading

 in sustainability and supply-chain resilience.

I remain at your service for any further information or facilitation.

With deepest regards and respect,

Hemen Parekh

www.ntaNEET.net ( Planned launch on 25 May 2026 ) 

Reference:

• COLAS Horsens RAP Plant: 

https://www.colas.com/en/news/horsens-asphalt-plant-designed-high-recycled-asphalt-use

• Times of India Report: Bitumen shortage to impact road construction amid West Asia conflict