When will the three sand mines in Tien Giang start supplying sand for the Chau Doc - Can Tho expressway?

Sand is expected to be available by the end of October.

On October 11th, Mr. Dang Hoang Vinh - Director of Project Management, Expressway Management Board (under the Can Tho City Investment and Construction Project Management Board) - the investor of component project 2 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway, stated that consulting units under the mine management enterprise have conducted exploratory drilling and surveying of sand reserves at the An Nhon sand mine (Cai Be district) and the two mines Ngu Hiep 1 and Ngu Hiep 2 in Cai Lay district. Simultaneously, they have prepared projects and submitted dossiers requesting recognition of reserves.

Workers are seen working on the construction site of package 13 of the project.

"The company managing the three sand mines has also committed to submitting a complete environmental impact assessment to the Tien Giang Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment by October 21st. If all goes smoothly, Tien Giang province will issue the confirmation document at the end of this month," Mr. Vinh said.

In early July, following working sessions, Tien Giang province committed to supporting Can Tho city with sand resources from three mines: An Nhon (Cai Be district) with an estimated reserve of over 900,000 m3; and the two mines Ngu Hiep 1 and Ngu Hiep 2 in Cai Lay district with estimated reserves of over 1.24 million m3 and nearly 2.6 million m3 respectively. The total initial estimated reserves of the three mines were approximately 4.7 million m3.

To date, following a review of reserves, the volume of sand in these mines has changed.

Specifically, the mines have surveyed the riverbed topography, drilled, and are preparing reports to review reserves. Among them, the An Nhon mine has an estimated actual reserve of approximately 400,000 m3; the Ngu Hiep 1 mine has an estimated actual surveyed reserve of approximately 1.3 million m3; and Ngu Hiep 2 has a reserve of approximately 1 million m3.

Workers are transporting pipes to pump sand into the construction site.

Thus, the total reserves of the three sand mines after the survey are approximately 2.7 million m3, a decrease of 2 million m3 from the initial estimate of 4.7 million m3. This discrepancy is due to the fact that the initial estimate was based on surveys conducted many years ago.

Component project 2 requires approximately 7 million cubic meters of sand for leveling. Construction began on June 17, 2023, and after nearly 10 months of inactivity waiting for sand, the project only began receiving sand from a mine on the Tien River in Binh Phuoc Xuan commune, Cho Moi district, An Giang province, in mid-April 2024.

This sand mine has reserves of approximately 2.3-2.4 million cubic meters suitable for highway construction. There is still a shortage of about 4.7 million cubic meters of sand, and Tien Giang province is expected to supply this amount. However, based on the survey results, the project will still need to find additional sources to meet the remaining 2 million cubic meters of sand.

Meanwhile, two months ago, the sand mine in Binh Phuoc Xuan commune shared 700,000 cubic meters of sand for the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway project, reducing the daily sand supply capacity for component project 2 by more than 50%. The investor has now requested the An Giang Provincial People's Committee to arrange and reallocate this volume of sand this year.

1 million cubic meters of sand have arrived at the construction site.

Since sand mining at the Binh Phuoc Xuan mine began in mid-April 2024, approximately 1 million cubic meters of sand have been delivered to four bidding packages of component project 2. After a long period of stagnation, the project has "revived," accelerating and regaining its progress.

Machinery and equipment operating on the construction site of package 11.

As of early October, the construction volume of the four main construction packages reached over 11.61% (compared to 7.05% two months prior). Specifically, package 11 reached 10.81%; package 12 reached 8.89%; package 13 reached 20.10%; and package 14 reached nearly 9%.

Specifically, the roadbed excavation for the main route has reached 28.5/30km; and for the service roads and access roads, it has reached 37/39km.

Construction of the main road embankment with K95 sand layer (up to the wick drain installation layer) is 10.5/30km; installation of wick drains for roadbed improvement is 2.5km. The service road and access road have been constructed with a K95 sand layer, reaching 21.5/39km.

Geotextile fabric was laid on 9/30km of the main route, 11.5/39km of the access roads and service roads, and over 1km of the service road was paved with crushed stone.

Of the 30 bridges on the route, which is over 7.2km long, 25 have been completed, with the remaining 5 to be implemented this year. According to the investor, the project aims to reach 20% completion by the end of 2024, and contractors are working hard to achieve this goal.

Phase 1 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project is over 188km long, passing through four provinces and cities: An Giang, Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Soc Trang. Phase 1 includes four lanes with a design speed of 100km/h. The total investment for the project is approximately 44,700 billion VND.

The project is expected to be substantially completed along the entire route in 2026 and put into operation in 2027. In its final phase, the project will be invested in with a scale of 6 lanes of highway, with a cross-section of 32.25m.

The project comprises four component projects, all of which commenced simultaneously on June 17, 2023. Component project 1, located in An Giang province and Can Tho city, spans over 57km and has an estimated total investment of 13,800 billion VND.

Component project 2 is located in Can Tho, with a length of over 37km and a total investment of over 9,700 billion VND.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/bao-gio-3-mo-cat-o-tien-giang-bat-dau-cap-cho-cao-toc-chau-doc-can-tho-soc-trang-192241011125121738.htm