The Minister of Equipment and Housing, who is also responsible for managing the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Salah Zouari, presided, on Monday, October 19, 2026, over the reopening to traffic of National Route No. 3, in the Ben Arous Governorate, following the completion of a pilot project aimed at valorizing demolition and construction waste and reusing it in road infrastructure.
The ceremony took place in the presence of the Governor of Ben Arous, Abdelhamid Bouguedida, the General Director of Bridges and Roads, the General Director of the Center for Testing and Construction Techniques, as well as several central and regional officials.
This project is part of an approach aimed at promoting innovative and sustainable solutions in the field of infrastructure. It relies on valorizing waste from demolition and construction to transform it into reusable materials for road construction. This approach helps preserve natural resources, reduce environmental impacts, and strengthen the principles of the circular economy and sustainable development.
The minister explained that the choice of National Route No. 3, in the Ben Arous Governorate, to host this pilot project stems from the importance of this corridor and the traffic volume it supports. About 150,000 vehicles travel daily there, including a significant share of heavy goods vehicles. These conditions provide a favorable framework for evaluating the performance of recycled materials and their ability to meet the requirements of actual road operation.
The project was carried out on a section of about 1.2 kilometers, following a technical approach based on experimentation, testing and evaluation. The aim is to determine the most appropriate methods to integrate materials derived from demolition and construction waste recycling into the different layers of the pavement, while verifying their compliance with quality, safety and traffic resistance requirements.
In this context, Salah Zouari specified that different proportions of recycled materials had been used during the various phases of the works. These materials were subjected to tests and technical measurements to evaluate their characteristics and effectiveness, with the aim of identifying the most suitable composition to ensure optimal performance in terms of quality and durability.
Sensors and specific equipment were also installed to monitor the road and track the evolution of its performance. This setup will allow regularly conducting technical tests using modern and advanced technologies.
The minister emphasized that the value of this project goes beyond reusing demolition and construction waste. It is also about verifying the effectiveness of these materials and their ability to offer levels of quality, safety and resistance comparable to conventional materials, thereby paving the way for broader use in future road projects.
In this perspective, the minister said that authorities were considering integrating the use of materials derived from demolition and construction waste recycling into the specifications for future road projects, with targeted proportions ranging from 20% to 30%, depending on the nature of the projects and the applicable technical specifications.
This approach is particularly important in light of the environmental challenges associated with the management of demolition and construction waste.
Finally, the project also aims to test and transfer modern technologies in the field of recycling these materials, to encourage technical innovation and to develop sustainable solutions for the infrastructure sector. It also aims to stimulate investments in recycling activities and to open new perspectives for the circular economy.
