Production of Polymer Modified Bitumen and Polymerised Bitumen Emulsions Note: This project has been cancelled, because of problems between the project partners.Bolivia is a vast country with a national road network of more than 75,000 km. These roads can be found anywhere between an altitude of 300 m and 5,500 m above sea level. The pavement however, until recently, was not adapted to the specific requirements of the microclimate of those altitudes. Especially in high altitudes the impact of the climatic conditions on the road surface is extreme. With temperatures of the asphalt ranging from minus 15 at night time up to 40 degrees Celsius during the day, the bitumen becomes brittle and cracks in cold conditions and softens at higher temperatures, causing rutting and surface deformation.In order to reduce these problems, bitumen is worldwide modified by adding polymers, resulting in a more elastic and durable product with greater temperature stability. The PBM, recently being demanded by the National Road Agency and imported from Brazil, Colombia and Peru, is not adapted to the high altitudes in Bolivia. This project will import the base bitumen and set up an ISO 9000 certified production plant for PMB and PBE in the Department of La Paz. The PMB for high altitudes will be developed and tested in the ISO 17025 certified asphalt testing laboratory, according to the specifications of the client. The plant will be designed according to the latest European technology and environmental requirements and ISO 14000 certified.The initiative for this project was taken by the Bolivian company Latinoamericana De Proyectos SA (LAPSA), a services and consulting company involved in major public and private infrastructure works. The second Bolivian partner is Concordia S.A. Empresa Constructora, one of the leading road construction companies in Bolivia. Together with their partner from El Salvador, Empresa Terracera Nacional SA De CV, the companies will form a joint venture company, generating employment for 53 people. The project will also foster the introduction of new asphalt applications, including recycling of used pavements for secondary roads.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The staff will be offered good employment standards. The company will work according to international standards, respecting people and environment. It will introduce a quality management system according to ISO 9000 and an environmental management system according ISO 14000. A semi-automatic batch plant will be installed, which will be easy to operate, guaranteeing safe material handling, requiring less energy to operate and reducing waste of raw materials.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe staff will be offered good employment standards. The lowest salaries of unskilled labourers will be 50% above the current minimum salary in Bolivia of Bs 1,000. Fringe benefits will include all legally prescribed benefits (social security, paid holidays, overtime payments, annual premium of 1.5 monthly salary, pension fund, insurance against occupational accidents, illnesses, incapacity and death, unemployment indemnity, right to associate with trade union). The company will apply a non-discrimination policy, however trying to maximise the employment of women. All staff will be offered good quality occupational protection sets and should adhere to set working protocols and health and safety standards. The company will work according to international standards, respecting people and environment.•	Innovation/Transfer of knowledgeThe project will introduce a new product to Bolivia, adapted to local circumstances, potentially leading to huge improvements in the road construction sector. The production method is new, and also in terms of logistics the project will present an advantage by supplying the product on the location of the road construction, allowing direct application. The joint venture will introduce ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certifications to the sector.•	Chain effectsImpact on local suppliersAll raw materials are imported, so the project will have no impact on local suppliers. Indirectly it will have some impact on the region where the production plant will be located as services will arise such as small-scale lunch restaurants, truck service facilities, small hostels, etc.Impact on local customers or consumersThe project will have a very positive impact on local customers and consumers. Clients will have access to a better product, adapted for the circumstances of that specific road, enabling them to offer a better quality road construction. The joint venture will be able to offer this product in small quantities at the time that the product needs to be applied, making it unnecessarily for road construction companies to invest in large stocks of bitumen. Consumers and the society at large will benefit as the quality of the road pavement will remain stable for many years, improving the accessibility to other parts of Bolivia.•	Impact on the sectorThe production of bitumen emulsions makes it possible for other companies to start its application in roofing.•	EnvironmentThe company will implement an environmental impact assessment. It will work with an environmental management system according to ISO 14000. The production plant will be designed with up-to-date environmentally friendly technology, producing little to zero waste and emissions and consuming relatively less energy. All heated storage and processing facilities will be isolated and the boiler or hot oil unit will be fuelled by natural gas instead of diesel. The products will be adapted to the local climatic circumstances of the road, ensuring a much longer life-cycle of the road pavement. Further, with the introduction of the project's emulsions new road maintenance technologies can be applied and recycled asphalt pavements can be provided to rural municipalities. Currently, old asphalt is being dumped.•	Position of womenThe project will try to employ the maximum number of women, however due to the nature of the work with bitumen most jobs will be for men.•	Impact on food safetyNo direct contribution. It can be argued that better roads contribute to better and quicker access to the market, preventing the spoilage of food products. To establish a production plant in Bolivia of Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) and Polymerised Bitumen Emulsions (PBE) in order to improve road conditions, especially those at high altitudes.