With no mines with valid mining licenses, people and construction investment enterprises in Muong Lat district are having to buy sand at high prices from Quan Hoa, Ba Thuoc districts, or from Hoa Binh province.
The construction of Pu Nhi Kindergarten (Muong Lat) is facing difficulties due to the high price of construction sand.
Ca Noi village, Pu Nhi commune is striving to complete the new rural construction this year. In particular, completing the construction of the internal traffic road is the biggest task. However, according to the Party cell secretary and head of Ca Noi village, Ho Van Thanh, this is an extremely difficult task. Because despite being supported with cement, the village management board still has to mobilize people to contribute money to buy sand, stone and construction labor. Currently, the price of construction sand is high, ranging from 500 - 600,000 VND/m3, the amount of money people have to contribute will be large, so it is very difficult to call for contributions.
According to Mr. Thanh, since 2021, people in the village have had to buy sand at very high prices to build houses. At times, the price of sand for construction and plastering has risen to more than 700,000 VND/m3. Meanwhile, the lives of people in the area are still facing many difficulties, mainly poor and near-poor households.
About 10km away, the contractor is also facing difficulties in constructing the Pu Nhi Kindergarten. The main reason is the high price of construction sand, causing the construction cost to increase compared to the estimate. According to Luong Van Liem, Deputy Head of the Investment and Construction Project Management Board of Muong Lat district, for a long time, construction projects in the area that use sand have had to be brought from Quan Hoa, Ba Thuoc, Cam Thuy districts and Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province, over long distances, so the price is very high. The average price of construction sand ranges from 300,000 VND to nearly 800,000 VND/m3. Not only do they have to pay high prices, sometimes, in some places, construction enterprises cannot buy sand to serve the construction of the project.
Meanwhile, the price of construction sand in Quan Hoa, Ba Thuoc, and Cam Thuy districts is between 250,000 and 300,000 VND/m3. The reason for the high price of sand in Muong Lat district is that the supplier has to pay extra transportation fees for long distances with many passes and slopes.
Also because of the long distance, the price of construction sand supplied to the construction site in the district also has a difference. Mr. Luong Van Liem added that the price of plastering sand to the construction site in Nang 1 village, Muong Ly commune at present is 580.9 thousand VND/m3; the price of concrete sand is 393.9 thousand VND/m3. Meanwhile, the price of plastering sand to the construction site in Lach village, Muong Chanh commune is up to 794.9 thousand VND/m3, the price of concrete sand is 584.4 thousand VND/m3...
According to the Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Muong Lat district, Ha Van Te, the province has planned 6 sand mining sites in the district, including 3 sites on the Ma River and 3 sites on the Xim stream. However, since 2021, Muong Lat district has not had any sand mines with valid mining licenses. Meanwhile, there are no enterprises producing artificial sand in the area, so the source of construction sand in the area is facing many difficulties.
According to Mr. Te, through the district's proposal, the Provincial People's Committee has made many efforts in granting sand mining licenses in the area. However, granting sand mining licenses requires a lot of time and procedures, and involves many sectors and levels.
After many efforts, in September 2023, the auction of the right to exploit sand mines on the Ma River in Trung Ly and Muong Ly communes (with an area of 4.36 hectares) was completed, and the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to recognize the winning bid for the enterprise. However, within the prescribed time limit, the winning enterprise did not submit the application for a mineral exploration license for the mine area. On March 12, 2024, the Provincial People's Committee canceled the decision to recognize the winning bid for this enterprise. The auction of this mine will be reorganized in the near future.
Buying sand at high prices not only makes it difficult for people and businesses to invest in construction projects, but also poses a high risk of illegal sand mining. In fact, along rivers and streams in the district, there are still small-scale cases of people arbitrarily mining sand to serve their family's needs...
Article and photos: Dong Thanh
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