Civil engineering and infrastructure

Although the road network is generally showing improvement across the continent, only one in three Africans in rural areas can access viable roads in all seasons.

GlasGrid®, a solution provided by Saint-Gobain Adfors, is used to reinforce road surfaces and delay reflection cracking from traffic, bitumen ageing and temperature variations. This solution triples the lifespan of road pavements.

The current global emergency is the provision of safe drinking water, and the collection and treatment of wastewater while taking local issues into account. This is particularly so in sub-Saharan Africa where about 319 million people do not have access to safe water (2015).

The challenge for Saint-Gobain PAM is to provide the means of transport and distribution that will make it possible to deliver precious water to consumers. The rigorous selection of pipeline materials that are to be in contact with water seeks to assure high quality all along its distribution through the networks. Delivering safe drinking water to taps, as well as collecting and purifying waste water, are global challenges that require the mobilisation of the best technology.

The production process in the Saint-Gobain PAM factories uses cast iron made from both iron ore and recycled scrap metal. This technique allows the recovery of 80 per cent of waste. The aim is to achieve zero non-recycled waste. The effective life span of ductile cast iron pipes is approximately 100 years and it is 100 per cent recyclable.

> Further information

Saint-Gobain in South Africa participated in the construction of Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, built to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, by supplying over 45 000 square metres of Sheerfill architectural membrane.

This resin-covered fibreglass web was selected to cover the stadium because of its non-flammable and self-cleaning properties.