Business pressure, people's burden

The story does not stop at economic factors, but also shows a "multi-layered picture" of shortcomings in planning and market management... Hanoi Moi Newspaper introduces a series of articles: "Escalating sand prices: Pressure on businesses, burden on people's livelihood", outlining the current situation of sand prices along with problems that need to be overcome in the management of construction materials in particular, and resources in general...

Lesson 1: Unusual sand "fever"

The construction market in Hanoi in recent months has been immersed in an unprecedented "sand fever", causing the price of this popular but very important material to skyrocket, leading to a series of consequences. High sand prices and scarce supply threaten financial security and project construction progress; erode business profits; force people to shoulder huge debts or put their dream of settling down on hold...

Sand storage in Phuc Loc commune has been scarce for many months.

Prices skyrocket

Surveying the construction materials market in Hanoi in recent days, reporters of Hanoi Moi Newspaper found that the price of black sand has increased from VND 200,000-250,000/m³ to VND 400,000-500,000/m³. In particular, the price of yellow sand - an important material in concrete structures - has skyrocketed to VND 900,000-1,000,000/m³, an increase of 58% compared to 2024. This increase is considered unprecedented and shocking to investors, businesses and people.

Not only did prices increase, sand supply also fell into a state of severe scarcity. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung, owner of a construction material yard at Voi wharf, Phuc Loc commune, shared: "The amount of sand arriving at the yard has decreased by 90% compared to normal. There have been many days when no trucks have arrived, while customers have been asking continuously..." Notably, sand mines in Phu Tho and Lao Cai are all in a state of "empty goods", import prices have increased by 30,000-50,000 VND/m³, but are still extremely scarce.

In fact, along the Red River through Hanoi (through Hong Van and Chuong Duong communes), reporters from the Hanoi Moi Newspaper recorded a series of construction material yards that were once bustling with transport vehicles, but have now become deserted. Mr. Ha Sy Dong, the owner of a material yard in Hong Van commune, said: "Previously, I sold thousands of cubic meters of sand every day, but for the past two months I have not been able to import a single truck of sand. All the sources said the mine has temporarily stopped mining. I have been in this profession for nearly 30 years and have never encountered such a situation."

Similarly, Mr. Dinh Van Cuong, another construction material yard owner in Hong Van commune with nearly 30 years of experience, affirmed that he had never seen such a long-lasting shortage of sand. He said that the price of sand has increased by 250-400% compared to normal times. Yellow sand has increased from 400,000 VND/m³ to more than 900,000 VND/m³ and is out of stock, while black sand has also increased to 400,000-450,000 VND/m³...

The above figures and shares show the alarming situation of the construction materials market, where sand prices are constantly escalating, supply is increasingly depleted, causing direct and far-reaching consequences for the construction industry in particular and the socio-economy in general.

Businesses are struggling, people have difficulty settling down

The escalating sand price has put construction companies and people in an extremely difficult situation. According to a quick survey of more than 50 construction companies in Hanoi, up to 57.2% of the opinions reflected that "financial plans were broken" due to the high price of materials, especially sand. Of these, nearly 1/3 of the companies had to temporarily suspend construction or delay progress to wait for the price of construction materials to cool down.

Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Thang Long Vietnam Corporation (the unit building Thanh Thuy Industrial Park, Tam Hung Commune) Nguyen Thi Hanh Hieu expressed her concern when the project was seriously affected: "If we continue to implement, we will definitely lose heavily, but if we stop, there will be no land to hand over to the leasing unit, it will be really difficult". Similarly, according to Director of Phuc Son Transport and Construction Company Limited (Hanoi) Khuat Dung, the company is in a dilemma. Many signed contracts do not have a price escalation clause, now that the price of sand has increased, continuing construction will result in a loss, and stopping will result in a contract penalty.

The high price of construction materials also affects the cost of real estate products, affecting people's access to housing, especially the affordable housing and social housing segments, which are already a big challenge for low- and middle-income people in big cities like Hanoi. A representative of Thanh Ha Construction Company said that the increase in sand prices has led to an increase in input costs and construction costs, significantly affecting the real estate market. Due to the cost of raw construction increasing by at least 20%, many project investors have to consider adjusting selling prices, especially in the affordable housing segment...

Not only businesses, people are also in a situation of "not being able to handle it" because of construction sand. Mr. Do Van Ha (Huong Son commune), who is building a house, said: "My family planned to build a house for about 750 million VND, but now it has exceeded 850 million VND. We have to borrow more money because we can't stop now." According to Mr. Hoang Van Nam in Hat Mon commune, the cost of sand, stone, and bricks for construction alone has increased by more than 150 million VND compared to the original estimate. "My family saved up all their lives to build a house, now we have to temporarily stop construction because we don't have enough money, even though the house is unfinished, the rainy season has come, it's not only unsafe but also a pity," Mr. Hoang Van Nam said. Similarly, Mr. Doan Long An in Son Tay ward also had to stop the construction project because the price of sand has exceeded the family's ability to bear.

It is worth noting that this situation is common in many rural areas on the outskirts of Hanoi - where people mainly build houses with financial savings, without large reserves. The price of materials has increased by 20-30%, causing many families to be passive, forced to postpone their dream of settling down or adjust the scale of the project...

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/gia-cat-leo-thang-ap-luc-doanh-nghiep-ganh-nang-dan-sinh-709776.html