Deputy Prime Minister requests to relieve 'thirst' for sand to build two highways in the Mekong Delta region

In an official dispatch sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Transport and relevant localities, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the People's Committees of An Giang, Dong Thap and Vinh Long provinces to immediately prioritize sand sources for the Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau expressway projects (part of the North - South expressway project, Can Tho - Ca Mau section) with the volume of 2023.

Phó Thủ tướng yêu cầu giải 'cơn khát' cát đắp cho hai cao tốc vùng ĐBSCL - Ảnh 1. — Lack of sand for embankment threatens progress of North-South expressway sections running through the Mekong Delta

At the same time, direct relevant professional agencies and localities to specifically identify the locations of mining areas and promptly deploy necessary work to provide materials for projects. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for directing investors and contractors to proactively coordinate closely with the People's Committees of provinces to carry out mining procedures according to regulations.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is assigned to guide localities, investors, and contractors on mining procedures and increasing mining capacity according to regulations.

The Can Tho - Ca Mau Expressway is considered the most important route in the Mekong Delta region, connecting many provinces and cities. The starting point of the project is at the IC2 intersection (the intersection connecting to National Highway 91 - Nam Song Hau, Can Tho City), the end point connects to the Ca Mau City bypass. The project started on January 1 and is expected to be put into use in early 2026.

Phase 1, the project has a total investment of more than 27,200 billion VND, 17 m wide, 4 lanes, divided into two component projects: Can Tho - Hau Giang, 36.7 km long, investment capital of over 9,700 billion VND; Hau Giang - Ca Mau section, 72.8 km long, capital of nearly 17,500 billion VND. Most of the project passes through rice fields, canals, rivers - places with weak geology that need a lot of sand to fill the foundation.

According to the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the total demand for sand for the project is more than 18 million ^m3 , of which the demand in 2023 is about 9.1 million ^m3 , but so far the amount of sand to meet is very little. Localities have only planned to supply the project with about 3 million ^m3 .

Currently, the Ministry is developing a project "Assessing mineral resources to serve the exploitation of sea sand to meet the needs of filling highway projects and urban and transport infrastructure in the Mekong Delta region". The Ministry of Transport is also implementing a trial construction of sea sand used for transport infrastructure projects in the Mekong Delta region, with the evaluation results expected by the end of 2023. Thus, it will be at the earliest by the end of 2023 to determine the ability to meet the technical requirements of sea sand used as filling material for highway projects. In the immediate future, in 2023, the source of filling materials for projects will mainly be river sand.

Therefore, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed the Prime Minister to issue a document requesting An Giang, Dong Thap and Vinh Long provinces to allocate sand resources for the Can Tho - Hau Giang expressway project to meet the implementation plan in 2023. Specifically, An Giang and Dong Thap provinces must each provide about 3.3 million ^m3 , while Vinh Long province must provide about 2.5 million ^m3 to ensure construction progress.

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