45 Days of Wharf Paving Completed in One Day! ... BPA Initiates Development of 'Eco-Friendly Modular Packaging Blocks'

'Eco-friendly Modular Packaging Block' explanatory image.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA) has embarked on developing an eco-friendly quay pavement method that can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and greatly improve quay operation efficiency.

On the 11th, BPA held a kickoff meeting for the "Development and Test Construction Service of Eco-friendly Modular Pavement Blocks" with a consortium consisting of Korea University and a port engineering company.

The modular method is a repair technique that installs concrete blocks manufactured in a factory on-site, similar to fitting Lego blocks together.

This method ensures high quality by producing blocks in a factory and greatly reduces the curing period after pouring concrete on-site, thereby enhancing quay operation efficiency.

Until now, quay pavement repairs used an on-site "demolition-construction-curing" method.

This method took an average of 45 days, including a minimum 30-day concrete curing period.

During the construction period, vehicle movement and cargo stacking such as containers were not possible, causing significant operational constraints for quay operators.

By using the modular pavement method, existing pavement can be demolished at night, blocks installed, and the facility can be used immediately the next day, thus improving operational efficiency accordingly.

It also minimizes dust generation, which was a problem with the existing pavement demolition method.

BPA plans to reduce the use of cement, the main ingredient of concrete that emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, by more than 30% through the development of eco-friendly modular blocks.

The development of eco-friendly modular pavement blocks will be completed by January 2023, with plans for full-scale application on-site.

It will first be applied to the cargo handling yard (CFS) pavement at Bukhang quay and then gradually expanded to other quays and facilities.

A BPA official said, "About 1 billion KRW is spent annually on pavement maintenance at BPA-owned quays. By introducing and expanding the eco-friendly modular method, we can significantly reduce carbon emissions and improve quay operation efficiency, which will help strengthen the competitiveness of Busan Port."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.