Sand extraction from the Ham Luong riverbed in the An Duc - An Hoa Tay mining area supplies sand for the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project.
Task assigned by the Government
According to Notice No. 283/TB-VPCP dated June 26, 2024, from the Government Office regarding the conclusions of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha at the working session with ministries, localities, and relevant agencies on resolving difficulties and obstacles for key transportation projects in the Southern region, the Government assigned Ben Tre province to supply approximately 2 million cubic meters of cement to the following projects: 2 million cubic meters to the Can Tho - Ca Mau project; approximately 3.37 million cubic meters to component project 3 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project; and approximately 2 million cubic meters to the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project.
According to the results of the implementation of the exploitation and supply of leveling materials under Resolution No. 106/2023/QH15 on piloting some specific policies on investment in road construction projects, regarding the supply of 2 million cubic meters of leveling sand for the Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau sections of the North-South Expressway Construction Project giai đoạn 2021 - 2025, with My Thuan Project Management Board as the investor, on December 7, 2024, the Provincial People's Committee issued two confirmations assigning two mineral areas to the contractor introduced by My Thuan Project Management Board, with a total reserve of approximately 1,912,239 m³ in the two areas. This area basically meets the assigned target of 2 million cubic meters. This includes: the area on the Tien River in Phu Duc commune, Chau Thanh district, with a reserve of 1,124,511 m³; and the area on the Tien River in Dinh Trung commune, Binh Dai district, with a reserve of 787,728 m³. Official exploitation will begin on January 15, 2025.
Regarding the output of sand extracted for the Can Tho - Hau Giang - Ca Mau expressway project, as of March 20, 2025, 160,661 m³ had been extracted, reaching 8.4%. According to the approved permit, the extraction capacity is 250,000 m³ /month, but the contractor's extraction volume has not reached the approved capacity, only 25% of the allowed capacity. This is due to several reasons: the contractor has not deployed enough registered equipment, and the sand is fine and contains many impurities, requiring sand washing. To ensure the required extraction volume for the project, the province has requested the construction units to gather sufficient equipment as per the approved permit. Simultaneously, a plan for supplementing and adjusting equipment has been developed for review and approval.
Regarding the supply of 3.37 million cubic meters of sand for Component 3 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway Project, Phase 1, with the Hau Giang Provincial Department of Construction as the investor, on December 7, 2024, the Provincial People's Committee assigned two mineral areas to the project investor. The total volume of the two areas is approximately 1,676,923 m³ , which is not enough to meet the 3.37 million cubic meter requirement. Specifically: The Tien River area in Son Dinh commune, Cho Lach town, Cho Lach district, has a reserve of 1,015,883 m³. The Ba Lai River area in Phong Nam and Chau Hoa communes, Giong Trom district, and Chau Hung and Thoi Lai communes, Binh Dai district, has a reserve of 661,040 m³. As of March 20, 2025, the extracted output reached 128,945 m³ , achieving 7.7% of the target, which is insufficient to meet the extraction volume required by the Department of Construction of Hau Giang province. Regarding the remaining volume, on February 12, 2025, the Department of Construction of Hau Giang province issued a document requesting the province to introduce additional sand mining areas with a total reserve of approximately 1.7 million cubic meters for the project to proceed with survey and licensing procedures in accordance with Resolution No. 106/2023/QH15.
Many construction projects require construction sand.
Sand mining is controlled by authorities in terms of location, depth, and mining equipment.
As the winning bidder for the An Duc - An Hoa Tay sand mine in An Duc and An Hoa Tay communes, Ba Tri district, and also one of the contractors for the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project , Mr. Huynh Bao Chau - Deputy Director of Hai Dang Joint Stock Company (Ho Chi Minh City ) said: “For the Ba Lai 8 bridge project in the province, we need to supply more than 800,000 cubic meters of sand, and for the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project, more than 900,000 cubic meters of sand. These two projects alone require over 1.7 million cubic meters of sand, while the two sand mines in the province (which our company won the bid for) only supply 800,000 cubic meters of sand per year. This is truly insufficient to meet the needs of the contractors, let alone the needs of other contractors. Therefore, there is a severe shortage of sand, and the situation for contractors is very tense...”
Regarding the auction of sand mining rights for key provincial projects and the supply of 2 million cubic meters of sand for Ho Chi Minh City's Ring Road 3, following the Prime Minister's directive, the Provincial People's Committee has decisively directed the auction of mineral exploitation rights. Accordingly, on October 24, 2024, the province completed the auction of mineral exploitation rights for three sand mines. Specifically: Quoi Son mine in Quoi Son commune, Chau Thanh district, with a reserve of 1,073,695 m³; An Hiep - An Ngai Tay mine in An Hiep and An Ngai Tay communes, Ba Tri district, with a reserve of 1,463,610 m³; and An Duc - An Hoa Tay mine in An Duc and An Hoa Tay communes, Ba Tri district, with a reserve of 1,696,818 m³. Following the successful bid, the Provincial People's Committee directed relevant agencies and units to promptly guide and carry out the necessary procedures to issue mining licenses in accordance with regulations.
The current challenge for the province is that, after assigning mineral areas to contractors under a special mechanism, the Provincial People's Committee directed the Department of Agriculture and Environment to urgently coordinate with local authorities where the minerals are located to publicly disclose mining information to affected residents. As a result of this public disclosure, the majority of residents agree with the policy of assigning mines to contractors under a special mechanism to supply sand for expressway projects. However, regarding the mineral area on the Tien River in Son Dinh commune, Cho Lach town, Cho Lach district, some households living along the riverbank have not agreed to sand mining due to concerns about riverbank erosion, affecting their houses and land, and have requested that sand be extracted elsewhere to avoid causing erosion.
Furthermore, the Tax Department of Region XVIII has not yet determined the price for calculating land lease fees for mineral mining operations, and therefore has not issued tax notices for licensed mining companies to fulfill their financial obligations.
| Following public awareness campaigns between the government and the people regarding the sand mining policy, many residents expressed concerns that sand mining could cause riverbank erosion, leading to land and home loss. A representative from the Department of Agriculture and Environment affirmed: "The state's sand mining is under control." Illegal mining, however, often occurs near the shore, making it easier to steal and transport sand, thus increasing the risk of riverbank erosion. |
Text and photos: Thach Thao
Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/khai-thac-cung-cap-cat-cho-cong-trinh-trong-diem-18042025-a145380.html
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