Tight control of construction material prices

- According to contractors, construction material prices are at a high level, greatly affecting construction progress. To control construction material prices, the Provincial People's Committee has directed the Department of Construction to inspect, survey, and propose measures to control prices, avoid speculation, and disrupt the market.

Prices increase, supply is scarce

In the Report of the Management Board of Investment Projects for Construction of Agricultural and Rural Development Works sent to the Provincial People's Committee to ask for opinions on removing difficulties and obstacles regarding the situation of high prices of construction materials (sand, stone) and scarcity of construction material supply, the reality is stated: Material prices are increasing very high, the difference between the price quotes of state agencies and the market is from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands/m3 depending on each item.

Son Tung Tuyen Quang Company Limited in Tan Thinh Commune (Chiem Hoa) supplies crushed stone products according to the listed price list.

Mr. Le Hai Hung, Director of the Management Board, said: In October 2023, the Cao Ngoi Lake project in Dong Loi commune (Son Duong) was approved for investment by the Provincial People's Committee. At that time, the price of sand was 180,000 VND/m3, 1x2 crushed stone was priced at nearly 141,000 VND/m3; 2x4 crushed stone was priced at nearly 132,000 VND/m3.

However, after a short time, the price announcement of the Department of Construction showed that these items had increased significantly. In Son Duong district and Tuyen Quang city, the price of 1x2 crushed stone increased from nearly 141 thousand VND/m3 at the end of 2023 to 220 - 240 thousand VND/m3 in April and May 2025; 2x4 crushed stone from nearly 132 thousand VND to 160 - 220 thousand VND/m3. This is the price at the foot of the warehouse, excluding VAT. That is the price announcement from the authorities, in reality the price is much higher. According to the price announcement of construction materials of Quynh Anh Construction Materials Trading and Production Company Limited, Thien Ke commune (Son Duong) in May 2025, the price of 1x2 crushed stone had reached 300 thousand VND/m3; Similarly, the price of crushed stone of Viet Nhat Mineral Investment Joint Stock Company is also kept at 300 thousand VND/m3. Particularly for construction sand, it is also up to nearly 400 thousand VND/m3.

A representative of Corporation 36 - the contractor for Cao Ngoi Lake construction shared: In reality, contractors are having to buy materials at prices higher than the state's announced prices, on average from 80,000 to more than 100,000 VND, depending on the type of material. The increase in material prices is accompanied by scarcity. At some material mines, the supply to the market is very limited, which has affected the construction progress of the projects. The contractor for the Cao Ngoi Lake headworks cluster itself has had to temporarily stop construction since the beginning of May because it cannot buy materials. And according to the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , the project will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, which will be difficult to implement.

Not only the Cao Ngoi lake project had to temporarily stop construction, but four emergency disaster prevention projects in Ham Yen, Chiem Hoa, and Son Duong districts, also invested by the Management Board of Investment Projects for Construction of Agricultural Works and Rural Development, had to be carried out at a slow pace due to high material prices.

Contractors constructing the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang Expressway Project are also having to accept buying construction materials at the highest price since its implementation. Mr. Le Duc Tranh, Director of the Executive Board of Package 24 - Deo Ca Group Joint Stock Company shared: At the beginning of the year, the contract unit to buy ready-mixed concrete products from the supplier was 1.2 million VND/m3, but at this time, the price has increased to 60,000 VND/m3. 19 bridges that Deo Ca Group is constructing along the entire route with thousands of cubic meters of concrete, the cost has increased very high - Mr. Tranh worried.

Tight control of construction material prices

Experts in the construction sector believe that there are many reasons for the high price of materials. Among them, the increase in electricity prices has increased production and business costs; the demand for construction has increased. In addition, there is also speculation, hoarding, and small-scale supply of construction materials to the market... which is pushing up material prices.

Faced with major fluctuations in construction material prices on April 22, 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 48/CD-TTg, requesting provinces and cities to strengthen inspection, examination, control, and strict management of construction material prices, especially material prices at mines in operation, to prevent price increases and forced selling at prices higher than the announced price. In case of detecting intentional collusion and forcing prices higher than the announced selling price, there must be solutions to punish and consider revoking licenses.

On May 16, 2025, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 2266/UBND-KT directing departments, branches and localities to continue to tighten the management of mineral exploitation activities to ensure economic efficiency, environmental protection and labor safety in the province. Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee assigned departments, branches, districts and cities to be responsible for supervising investment in mineral exploitation and processing projects, ensuring the application of advanced technology to increase the value of resources, meeting the requirements of environmental protection and labor safety. At the same time, proactively advise the Provincial People's Committee to remove obstacles related to mineral exploitation investment, contributing to promoting socio-economic growth in 2025. The province also encourages enterprises and construction contractors to research and use environmentally friendly construction materials; reuse materials to reduce pressure on the construction materials industry, minimizing impacts on the environment.

The representative of the Department of Construction said: The Department has reviewed and surveyed the prices of materials, especially sand, gravel, crushed stone, etc. and announced on the Department's website for relevant organizations, households and individuals to refer to and use information on material prices. From there, establish and manage construction investment costs. The Department also coordinated with the Department of Finance to conduct inspections of construction material production facilities on the basis of strictly handling the situation of price increase, price pressure, and selling construction materials at a higher price than the announced price.

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/kiem-soat-chat-gia-vat-lieu-xay-dung-213191.html