With many highway projects due to be completed by 2025, the risk of a shortage of stone materials remains constant. In many localities, although stone prices have increased much higher than estimated, contractors still have no stone to buy.
Scarce resources, high purchase prices
At the Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon project, Colonel Nguyen Tuan Anh, Deputy General Director of Truong Son Construction Corporation, said that the project's completion time is only about half a year. However, the biggest concern now is the source of stone materials for asphalt concrete construction.
Construction of highway foundation layer, Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon section.
For the crushed stone category, the contractor can use crushed stone to make. However, the stone for making asphalt concrete must be purchased 100%.
According to calculations, the volume of asphalt concrete to be constructed along more than 23km of the main route undertaken by the enterprise is about 220,000 tons, and the demand for stone to be gathered is 140,000m3. Up to now, the contractor has only gathered 35,000m3 (reaching about 25%).
It is worth mentioning that the stone in Binh Dinh area does not meet the standards due to poor adhesion, so the contractor has to buy it from Nhon Hoi (Quang Ngai) or Cam Lam - Khanh Hoa with a transportation distance of 110-350km, causing a huge increase in costs.
Previously, from the end of 2024, also at the Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon expressway project, the difficulty in mobilizing stone was also mentioned by Phuc Loc Group. According to the contractor's representative, the unit had to go to other provinces to find stone sources, including surveying mines in Quang Binh and Khanh Hoa.
On the 7km main route under construction, Phuc Loc needs about 100,000m3 of stone, the initial estimated cost is about 300,000 VND/m3 (in Binh Dinh area).
However, the plan changed, the stone had to be purchased from Khanh Hoa, the unit price to the construction site of 1m3 increased to 600,000 - 700,000 VND. Although it could suffer a loss, the contractor still accepted to buy to ensure progress and quality.
Money is not easy to buy
The shortage of stone due to the inability to utilize materials from tunneling work (geological changes compared to the design) and the increased volume of commercial purchases are also among the main reasons why the contractor's construction plan for the Chi Thanh - Van Phong and Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressways has not been as expected.
The contractor of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway had to buy stone at a price 30-50% higher than the bid price to have stone for construction.
Mr. Ngo Truong Nam, General Director of Deo Ca Group, said that at the Chi Thanh - Van Phong project, the total stone demand of this contractor is 530,000m3. Due to changes in the tunnel geology compared to the design, the amount of commercially purchased stone increased by about 200,000m3.
In the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon project, the total demand is about 1.93 million m3. Changes in the tunnel geology compared to the design led to an increase of 760,000 m3 of commercially purchased rock.
"We are having to buy stone at a price 30-50% higher than the bid price. This situation requires the authorities to speed up the licensing procedures for new stone mines and increase the capacity of existing mines," said Mr. Nam.
Part of the group of projects to finish in 2025, the Hoa Lien - Tuy Loan project is also facing the risk of being behind schedule due to the stone source not meeting the requirements.
Leading the consortium of contractors for the project, a representative of Truong Son Construction Corporation said that according to calculations, the unit's demand for stone is about 200,000m3. After a long period of implementation, the current volume of gathered stone has only reached about 30%.
"After working with ministries, functional agencies and contractors, Da Nang City agreed to increase the capacity of some mines, but the procedures are also very complicated.
In the project construction area, the quarry owners are not interested in providing stone for highway construction due to higher technical requirements. The option of buying stone in Hue and Quang Nam is also considered. However, the cost is much higher due to the long distance," said a representative of Truong Son.
Not only is there a shortage of supply, the contractor constructing the Hoa Lien - Tuy Loan expressway also faces a major obstacle when the announcement of material prices at local mines is not close to the actual market price.
For example, the price of D37 stone material according to the contract is only 152,000 VND/m3, according to the local price announcement it is 182,000 VND, the actual purchase price from the mine owner is 236,000 VND but there is still no price to buy.
Identify specific needs
According to Mr. Nguyen The Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Investment Management, it is expected that by 2025, about 1,188km of expressways will be completed under 28 projects.
In particular, projects in the North and Central regions have basically ensured the source of stone materials, meeting the construction progress. Projects in the South region still face many difficulties such as: Can Tho - Ca Mau, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3, Long Thanh International Airport.
The stone demand of the above 4 projects is approximately 14 million m3. Currently, contractors have mobilized 3.45 million m3. The remaining volume that needs to be mobilized is about 10.25 million m3.
The stone source in the region is only available in a few localities such as: An Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Of which, Antraco stone mine in An Giang has very good quality but has stopped mining since June 2024 due to expiration, and has not been exploited again until now.
Dong Nai province is the locality with the largest stone reserves capable of supplying projects among the provinces in the region. However, the supply capacity is still limited due to the dependence on transportation waiting time and actual mining capacity of each mine.
The Department of Construction Investment Management has advised the Ministry of Transport to report to the Prime Minister on difficulties in stone material sources. The Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to work directly with Dong Nai province to guide the resolution of difficulties in mining procedures.
On February 13, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a working delegation to directly work with An Giang province to guide the province to remove difficulties and obstacles in granting licenses to re-exploit Antraco mine. The province is expected to complete the procedures in February.
The Ministry of Transport has also requested investors to specifically determine the stone needs of each project, propose suitable mines and register their needs with Dong Nai province to supply the projects according to construction progress.
According to Mr. Nguyen The Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Investment Management, it is expected that by 2025, about 1,188km of expressways will be completed in 28 projects (17 projects with 889km managed by the Ministry of Transport, 11 projects with 299km managed by localities).
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nha-thau-cao-toc-van-gap-kho-vi-thieu-da-192250217223802061.htm
Comment (0)