Exploiting and supplying sand for key projects

Exploiting sand from Ham Luong riverbed in An Duc - An Hoa Tay mine area to supply for Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project.

Government assigned tasks

In Notice No. 283/TB-VPCP dated June 26, 2024 of the Government Office on the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha at the working session with ministries, localities and relevant agencies on handling difficulties and obstacles for key transport projects in the Southern region, the Government assigned Ben Tre province to supply the following projects: Can Tho - Ca Mau project about 2 million cubic meters. Component project 3 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway project about 3.37 million cubic meters. Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project about 2 million cubic meters.

According to the results of implementing the exploitation and supply of filling materials according to Resolution No. 106/2023/QH15 on piloting a number of specific policies on investment in road construction, for the supply of 2 million cubic meters of filling sand for the component project of Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau sections of the North - South Expressway Construction Project in the period of 2021 - 2025, invested by My Thuan Project Management Board (PMU). On December 7, 2024, the Provincial People's Committee issued 2 confirmations of handing over 2 mineral areas to the contractor introduced by My Thuan PMU with a total reserve of 2 areas of about 1,912,239m ³ . This area basically meets the assigned target of 2 million cubic meters. including: Area on Tien River in Phu Duc Commune, Chau Thanh District, reserves of 1,124,511m³. Area on Tien River in Dinh Trung Commune, Binh Dai District, reserves of 787,728m³. Exploitation officially started from January 15, 2025.

Regarding the exploitation output supplied to the Can Tho - Hau Giang - Ca Mau expressway project, as of March 20, 2025, ^160,661m3 has been exploited, reaching 8.4%. According to the granted confirmation, the exploitation capacity is 250,000 ^m3 /month, but the exploitation volume of the contractor has not reached the granted capacity, only reaching 25% of the permitted capacity, for the reasons that the contractor has not arranged enough registered vehicles, the sand composition is fine, with many impurities, so the sand washing stage must be carried out. To ensure the exploitation volume according to the supply requirements for the project, the province has requested the construction units to gather enough vehicles according to the confirmation for exploitation. At the same time, develop a plan to supplement and adjust equipment for review and approval.

Regarding the supply of 3.37 million cubic meters of sand for Component Project 3 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway Project Phase 1 invested by the Department of Construction of Hau Giang province, on December 7, 2024, the Provincial People's Committee assigned 2 mineral areas to the project investor. The total volume of the 2 areas is about 1,676,923m ³ , not enough to meet the 3.37 million cubic meters. Specifically: Tien River area in Son Dinh commune, Cho Lach town, Cho Lach district, reserves of 1,015,883m³. Ba Lai River area in Phong Nam commune, Chau Hoa commune, Giong Trom district and Chau Hung commune, Thoi Lai commune, Binh Dai district, reserves of 661,040m³. As of March 20, 2025, ^128,945m3 of the exploited output has been exploited, reaching 7.7%, not meeting the exploitation volume according to the demand of the Department of Construction of Hau Giang province. Regarding the remaining volume, on February 12, 2025, the Department of Construction of Hau Giang province issued a document requesting the province to introduce additional sand mining areas with a total reserve of about 1.7 million cubic meters for the project to carry out survey procedures and grant mining licenses according to Resolution No. 106/2023/QH15.

Many projects need construction sand

Sand mining is controlled by authorities regarding location, mining depth, mining means...

As the winning bidder for the An Duc - An Hoa Tay mine in An Duc and An Hoa Tay communes, Ba Tri district, and also one of the contractors for the construction of Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 , Mr. Huynh Bao Chau - Deputy Director of Hai Dang Joint Stock Company (Ho Chi Minh City ) said: "For the Ba Lai 8 bridge project of the province, we have to supply more than 800 thousand cubic meters of sand, for Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 it is more than 900 thousand cubic meters of sand, these 2 projects alone have more than 1.7 million cubic meters of sand, while the 2 sand mines of the province (which the company won the bid for) only supply 800 thousand cubic meters of sand each year, which is really not enough to supply the contractor, not to mention the needs of other contractors. Therefore, the sand source is seriously lacking and the situation of the contractors is very tense...".

Regarding the mines auctioning sand supply for key projects of the province and supplying 2 million cubic meters of sand for Ring Road 3 of Ho Chi Minh City, following the direction of the Prime Minister, the Provincial People's Committee has strongly directed the auction of mineral exploitation rights. Accordingly, on October 24, 2024, the province completed the auction of mineral exploitation rights for 3 sand mines. Specifically: Quoi Son mine in Quoi Son commune, Chau Thanh district, with a reserve of 1,073,695m³. An Hiep - An Ngai Tay mine in An Hiep commune and An Ngai Tay commune, Ba Tri district, with a reserve of 1,463,610m³. An Duc - An Hoa Tay mine in An Duc commune and An Hoa Tay commune, Ba Tri district, with a reserve of 1,696,818m³. After winning the auction, the Provincial People's Committee directed relevant agencies and units to urgently guide and carry out relevant procedures to grant mining licenses according to regulations.

The current difficulty of the province is that, after handing over the mineral area to contractors under a special mechanism, the Provincial People's Committee has directed the Department of Agriculture and Environment to urgently coordinate with the locality where the minerals are located to publicly disclose mining information to the affected people. As a result of the public disclosure to the people, the majority of people agree with the policy of handing over the mine to contractors under a special mechanism to supply sand for highway projects. However, for the mineral area on the Tien River in Son Dinh Commune, Cho Lach Town, Cho Lach District, some households living along the riverbank have not agreed with sand mining due to concerns about riverbank erosion, affecting houses and land, and have suggested taking sand elsewhere to avoid erosion.

Besides, currently, the Tax Department of Region XVIII has not determined the price to calculate land rental fees for mineral activities, so it has not issued tax notices for licensed mining companies to fulfill their financial obligations.

From the public meetings and propaganda between the government and the people about the sand mining policy, many people are concerned that sand mining can cause riverbank erosion, causing them to lose their land and homes. The representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment affirmed: "The State's sand mining is controlled". Illegal mining often occurs near the shore, making it easier to steal and transport sand, which can easily lead to riverbank erosion.

Article and photos: Thach Thao

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/khai-thac-cung-cap-cat-cho-cong-trinh-trong-diem-18042025-a145380.html