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The Coir Board has got the Indian Road Congress approval for use of coir geo-textiles in rural road construction.
This followed the success achieved by the Central Coir Research Institute in using the versatile material for road construction.
A project for using coir geo textiles in construction of 50 km of road each in 9 States has been taken up for implementation.
This will open up a vast market for coir geo textiles and pave way for enhanced utilisation of coconut husk, according to Mr V.S. Vijayaraghavan, Chairman, Coir Board.
Coir pith blocks have found a unique purpose in the aviation sector and its effectiveness is under close evaluation both by the National Institute of Technology and the National Airports Authority of India particularly in table top runways to avert accidents, he told reporters here.
The process involves filling coir pith blocks around runway edges to provide a cushioning effect for aircrafts in the event of it overshooting the runway.
He said that a project to test its effectiveness will commence shortly at Kozhikode Airport by Coir Board in association with NIT and NAAI.
For the third consecutive year, the Coir Board has surpassed the export target set by the Centre.
It has recorded an average 36 per cent export growth since 2008-09.
Mr V.S. Vijayaraghavan pointed out that the export earnings touched Rs 639.97 crore in 2008-09 against the target of Rs 600 crore and exports reached Rs 804.05 crore against the target of Rs 700 crore in 2009-10.
The Board achieved an export turnover of Rs 807.07 crore in 2010-11 as against the target of Rs 800crore.
Record sales
Mr Vijayaraghavan, whose 3-year tenure is coming to an end, said that the Board's showroom and sales depots in the domestic sector also recorded an all-time high sales worth Rs 14.06 crore during 2009-10.
However, it fell short of expectation in 2010-11 with sales declining to Rs 13.4 crore. The Jammu showroom of the Board alone achieved sales of Rs 3 crore during the year, he said adding, that the Board received the single largest order of coir products worth Rs 2 crore from Thirumala Thirupati Devasthanam.
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