Rubblization of Shaybah Airport Runway Pavement—A Sustainable Circular Economy Solution

Abstract

Shaybah airport runway upgrade construction work was successfully completed in 77 days, four months ahead of the contractual construction execution schedule. The project was honored with the PMI 2020 Project Excellence Award for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Rubblization of existing con crete pavement was one of the key factors for the early completion and project achievements and awards. Rubblization technology was used to crush existing worn-out Shaybah airport runway concrete pavement, keeping the integrity of underneath sub-grades, and reused as a structurally strong base course to overlay hot mix asphalt. This paper will share the success story behind the process of selection, definition, sourcing, implementation, validation and acceptance of rubblized concrete pavement, and its contribution to the Shaybah Airport Runway Upgrade Project’s achievements. This paper presents Rubblization as a practical, cost effective and sustainable option for repairing deteriorated airfield concrete pavement, and will also demonstrate how the implementation of rubblization of runway pavement contributes to the Saudi Aramco initiative to adopt circular economy principles. The circular economy unlocks economic opportunities, preserves natural resources, and improves environmental performance, an initiative sponsored by Saudi Aramco executive management.