Expedite sand mining to serve the expressway project.

Can Tho City currently has 9 river sand mines and 1 sea sand mine that have been granted permits and extensions for exploitation to supply component 4 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway construction project, phase 1. However, in recent times, these mines have been operating below their permitted capacity or have not yet commenced exploitation. The city has directed relevant units to urgently and decisively accelerate the progress of sand exploitation to ensure the project's construction schedule.

The Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project section passing through Can Tho City.

Operating at just over 40% of its permitted capacity.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, the city has issued 7 permits for sand mining and extended 2 licenses with a total reserve of nearly 9 million m³ of river sand, for the purpose of supplying component project 4. However, contractors and businesses mining sand at sand mines MS 03, MS 04, MS 12, MR 12, and MS 06 have not yet reached their licensed capacity. Specifically, sand mine MS 05, licensed to Construction Corporation No. 5 - JSC, has a reserve of 650,000 m³ and an average mining capacity of 3,000 m³/day. The Corporation commenced mining from July 4th to August 6th, 2025, extracting 1,459 m³, and has temporarily suspended mining since August 7th, 2025. The MS 02 sand mine was licensed to My Da Construction Co., Ltd. for exploitation, with a reserve of 63,000 m3 and an average extraction capacity of 426 m3/day. The contractor has registered the equipment and completed the procedures, but as of the first week of September 2025, mining operations have not yet commenced.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan, representative of Truong Son Construction Corporation, as of September 2, 2025, the company had extracted over 386,000 m3 of sand from mine MS 12, reaching 61.47% of the licensed reserves. However, the sand at this mine contains many impurities and has a thin sand layer, making extraction difficult and resulting in failure to reach full capacity...

Furthermore, according to relevant units, sand mining at the mines faces difficulties in mobilizing equipment and vehicles that meet the requirements of the specific local conditions; the registration and inspection of vehicles still have many obstacles. Some contractors and mining units are not proactive in mining, failing to ensure commitments regarding production volume and material supply schedule. Contractors and businesses lack sufficient mining and transportation equipment; in some cases, equipment frequently breaks down but is not repaired or replaced in a timely manner. Sand mining and transportation are not coordinated and inefficient. Transporting sand to construction sites is difficult because large ships, after receiving sand, cannot enter small river mouths due to the saltwater intrusion prevention system, requiring the sand to be pumped to smaller ships inside the sluices, causing delays in transportation.

Mr. Ngo Thai Chan, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, stated: As of September 2nd, 2025, approximately 2.2 million cubic meters of sand have been extracted from 9 sand mines to supply component project 4. According to 7 confirmation documents and 2 mineral exploitation licenses, the total permitted average extraction capacity is approximately 25,433 cubic meters per day. However, the current extraction capacity is only 10,000-11,000 cubic meters per day, reaching about 40-43% of the total permitted capacity. At the current rate, by the end of December 2025, the total river sand reserves at the 9 sand mines that can be mobilized to supply component project 4 will reach a maximum of approximately 3.28 million cubic meters.

Regarding the sea sand mine, the People's Committee of Soc Trang province (formerly) granted a license for one mine in Sub-area B1.4, with a reserve of 2 million m3, to Construction Corporation No. 1 for exploitation to supply component project 4, but the contractor has not yet started operations. According to Mr. Nguyen Danh Tuan, representative of Construction Corporation No. 1 - JSC, the company has basically completed the procedures and will soon begin exploitation.

Expedite the progress.

The Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project is a key national project and must be completed by 2026 as required by the Prime Minister. Component 4 of the project has only reached over 40% of the contract value, mainly due to delays in the delivery of sand to the construction site.

According to Mr. Ngo Thai Chan, the current sand volume largely depends on the mining capacity of the units assigned to the mines. Calculations show that if the mining units ensure a permitted capacity of approximately 25,433 m3/day, the total output will reach about 5.1 million m3 by December 31, 2025. To ensure the sand supply for component project 4, the Department of Agriculture and Environment requests contractors and businesses to accelerate the exploitation of licensed sand mines such as MS 03, MS 04, MS 12, MR 12, and MS 06; and to promptly begin exploitation at mines MS 05 and MS 02. Simultaneously, contractors should increase mining capacity to ensure progress. Construction Corporation No. 1 - JSC should urgently bring the B1.4 sea sand mine into operation. The City People's Committee should promptly issue sand prices at the mines to reassure contractors during exploitation.

Furthermore, for the B1.1 and B1.2 sea sand mines supplying the Eastern North-South Expressway, the remaining reserves are approximately 2.5 million m3. Currently, the demand for sand from the Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway project is not high. The Government is drafting a Resolution on the issuance of specific mechanisms and policies; once the Resolution is issued, the contractor assigned to the sand mine will be allowed to supply the project. Therefore, this sand can be transferred to serve component project 4. The City People's Committee has worked with and Vinh Long province has approved support from two sand mines with a volume of approximately 750,000 m3. Truong Son Construction Corporation is proposing to transfer sand from Dong Thap province at two mines with a reserve of approximately 500,000 m3. Thus, with the above volume of sand, the project is basically guaranteed to be served.

At a recent meeting on the situation of sand mining in the city serving component 4 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway construction project, phase 1, Mr. Tran Van Lau, Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City, requested: Relevant departments and agencies, and the investor must closely monitor the progress on a daily and weekly basis, proactively resolve obstacles, and accelerate the sand mining progress at the sand mines that have been approved for contractors. The investor must closely monitor the situation of contractors carrying out sand mining, and report to the City People's Committee to handle contractors with slow progress or weak capacity that affect the overall progress. The Department of Agriculture and Environment should consider and boldly increase the capacity according to regulations for mines assessed as having good sand quality and large reserves. For offshore sand mines, contractors need to promptly complete procedures, prepare mining equipment, and monitor salinity to ensure safety and not affect production and people's lives. In addition, detailed documentation should be prepared, implementation should be public and transparent, and pilot programs should be conducted on certain sections to assess effectiveness before expansion.

Text and photos: T. TRINH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/day-nhanh-tien-do-khai-thac-cat-phuc-vu-du-an-cao-toc-a190875.html