Raw sand is scarce - construction businesses and people face difficulties

High sand prices have made it difficult for businesses to construct the Hau Loc Secondary School project.

Business in trouble

Tiep Nam Giang Investment and Construction Trading Joint Stock Company is currently implementing the "Project to build new, repair and upgrade Hau Loc Secondary School". Mr. Trieu Van Canh, director of the company, said: Undertaking the construction in the condition that construction materials (VLXD) such as stone, brick, sand... have increased sharply since the beginning of 2025 until now, causing many difficulties for businesses. Currently, construction sand costs 450,000 VND/m3, plastering sand costs 500,000 VND/m3, an increase of 200% compared to 2024. The price of such high materials is not easy to buy, but must be "scheduled" to buy. Due to the increase in the price of construction materials, the cost of the project has increased by 15 - 20% compared to the signed contract. However, because this is a lump sum contract, the company accepts the loss, at the same time finds ways to overcome it, ensuring the construction progress as well as the quality of the project. At this time, the construction progress is guaranteed according to the investor's requirements. The unit is striving to complete the project by October 2025 and hand it over to the investor as per the signed contract.

According to Mr. Canh, in addition to implementing the school construction and renovation project, his company also implements two other traffic projects. However, due to the scarcity, high price and difficulty in purchasing of materials for traffic projects such as road embankment soil, gravel, grade 1 and 2 gravel, sand, etc., construction has been temporarily suspended. Therefore, Mr. Canh hopes that the authorities will intervene and take timely measures to resolve the issue, ensuring the source of construction materials as well as reasonable and stable prices. Only then can not only his company but also other construction companies be able to implement construction projects on schedule.

Also in a state of "restlessness" due to the high price of construction materials, Mr. Dao Huy Dien, Director of the Joint Venture Vietnam - Japan Concrete Factory, Trieu Son Commune (under Ha Thanh Investment Corporation) said: His company specializes in producing construction materials such as commercial concrete, Asphalt concrete, drainage pipes, Viet Nhat unburnt bricks, Viet Nhat Terrazzo bricks... To make these products, the main input materials are sand, stone, cement... However, since the beginning of the year, the price of raw materials has increased by about 30 - 40%, which has increased the cost, making it difficult to sell products, affecting the jobs and income of workers.

People building houses are struggling

Mr. Le Van Dung, in Hoang Giang commune, said: “In February 2025, my family started construction of a house, which was also the time when the prices of construction materials such as bricks, sand, stones, etc. increased, especially sand which was very scarce and difficult to buy. To buy a truck of sand, with a volume of 15m3, I had to "make an appointment" more than half a month in advance. Although the price of sand to buy was 450,000 VND/m3 (for construction sand) and 500,000 VND/m3 (for plastering sand), 100,000 VND/m3 higher than at the end of 2024, it was not always available. In order to avoid interruptions in the construction due to lack of sand, and at the same time ensure the time to move into the new house in the 6th lunar month, I switched to getting sand from Nghe An , at a price of only 400,000 VND/m3, however, up to now, the price of sand purchased from Nghe An has also increased. equal to sand price in Thanh Hoa".

Raw sand is scarce - construction businesses and people face difficulties

Due to the increase in sand prices, Mr. Le Van Dung's house in Hoang Giang commune was forced to increase construction costs.

According to Mr. Dung, the high price of sand and construction materials has increased the cost of building the new house by about 200 million VND. This amount is beyond his expectation, so he is calculating to mobilize many sources to compensate, including borrowing from the bank.

More favorable than Mr. Dung's family, Mr. Hoang Van Viet, in Nguyet Vien ward, shared: "Although the price of sand has increased and is very difficult to buy. However, thanks to a relative who is an agent specializing in providing construction materials, during the process of building the new house, the sand supply has not been interrupted. However, due to the increase in material prices, the initial estimated cost of the house of 1.5 billion VND has now increased to nearly 1.7 billion VND."

The fact that sand prices are high and showing no signs of cooling down is believed to be due to the fact that many sand mines in the province are temporarily shutting down for various reasons, causing a sharp decrease in supply. This has led to hoarding and price manipulation. Therefore, to solve the problem at its root, the Department of Construction has advised the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to direct the departments, branches, and localities assigned to appraise projects, environmental impact assessment reports of mine capacity expansion projects, and appraisal of mining license applications to shorten the appraisal time by more than 50%.

Article and photos: Minh Ly

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/cat-nguyen-lieu-khan-hiem-doanh-nghiep-nbsp-xay-dung-va-nguoi-dan-gap-kho-255978.htm