Da Nang proposes plan to stabilize sand and gravel supply

Faced with the shortage of construction sand and the high price of sand, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has proposed that the City People's Committee request the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to allow the city to demarcate three mining areas on the Vu Gia and Thu Bon rivers to quickly put them into operation in order to promptly supply and stabilize the price of construction sand for the market.

Sand gathering and trading area in Hoa Xuan ward lacks supply for the market. Photo: HOANG HIEP

Currently, on Highway 609B, through Quang Hue village, Dai Loc commune, there is no longer a scene of dump trucks stopping in long lines to wait or running one after another to get construction sand like before because the sand mine built on Thu Bon river in Giao Thuy village, Dai Loc commune has expired its mining license. Previously, the sand mine built on Vu Gia river in Ngoc Kinh Dong village, Ha Nha commune also expired its mining license.

Meanwhile, the sand mine in Hoi Khach village, Thuong Duc commune (also known as Pha Le sand mine) has resumed operations after a period of time when the authorities strongly requested relevant units to resolve conflicts and put the mine into operation. However, according to the reporter's records, Pha Le construction sand mine is being exploited at a small capacity.

Due to the scarce supply, construction sand transported to some gathering places in Hoa Xuan ward, Ngu Hanh Son... is very little. According to a construction material business owner in Hoa Xuan ward, this place used to gather a lot of sand but now it has been sold out. This person has just bought 2 trucks of sand to sell, but because the price of sand is too high, the price at the place is 900,000 VND/ ^m3 , 2 times higher than in March 2025.

Meanwhile, a dump truck driver at the sand gathering site along Nam Ky Khoi Nghia road said that the sand being sold here was transported from the Pha Le mine's reserve site, priced at VND850,000/ ^m3 .

However, according to some sand truck drivers, if customers need it, they can buy other types of construction sand from other drivers at a cheaper price and of course without an invoice. These drivers do not specifically disclose where this cheap sand is mined from...

Mr. Nguyen Van Tai, a construction contractor in Thanh Khe ward, said that compared to the estimated price of the project, the actual price of construction sand purchased was 3-4 times higher. The unit had just bought a truck of sand, but found that the sand was of very poor quality.

“When I put water in a glass containing newly purchased sand and a glass containing sand purchased in May, the water in the glass containing newly purchased sand was cloudy and I could tell by looking at it that the mud content was too high and the quality of the sand was poor. It is possible that this type of sand was illegally mined from some source and then sold at a high price to profit from the scarcity of construction sand in the market,” Mr. Tai said indignantly.

Ms. Huynh Thi Vinh, a sand seller in Hoa Xuan ward, said: “The sand purchased is gradually becoming scarce, and some of the sand trucks purchased are not of good quality as before. Meanwhile, the Pha Le sand mine is being exploited at a moderate level.

With this situation, in the near future, sand prices will continue to increase, sometimes up to 1 million VND/ ^m3 . Therefore, the authorities need to have solutions for other sand mines to exploit to ensure supply for the market, ensure the quality of construction sand for projects and stabilize sand prices.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, to solve the shortage of construction sand, the department has proposed to report to the City People's Committee to request the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to consider abolishing the regulation in Clause 1, Article 1, Circular No. 02/2024/TT-BTNMT dated April 22, 2024 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) to have a basis for convenient exploration of river sand and gravel minerals, and soon put the mines into exploitation.

At the same time, it is recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment consider and agree to allow the City People's Committee to demarcate 3 construction sand mine areas in Giao Thuy village, Dai Loc commune (remaining reserves of about ^50,000m3 of sand); in Ngoc Kinh Dong village, Ha Nha commune (remaining reserves of about 150,000m3 ^of sand); in My Hao village, Vu Gia commune (unlicensed reserves of 367,357m3 ^of sand) to grant mining licenses in order to immediately have a sand supply to meet the demand for construction materials for projects invested with state budget capital in 2025.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/da-nang-de-xuat-phuong-an-binh-on-nguon-cung-cat-soi-3265364.html