Hanoi (VNA) - Many transport projects in southern localities have beendelayed due to the scarcity and surging price of construction sand, GiaoThong (Transport) newspaper reported.

For instance, a contractor of the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Highway said that onlyhalf of the road foundation had been built; some 80,000 cubic metres of sandare missing to complete the project’s foundation.

“We are having a headache due to sand scarcity. Foundation sand was 120,000 VND(5.2 USD) per cubic metre, now it has risen to more than 200,000 USD (8.7 USD)per cubic metre,” he said.

Nguyen Ngoc Son, acting director of the A1 of HCM City-Trung Luong Highway saidthat the contractor has found ways to connect with other sand providers, butthere is still not enough sand and progress has been delayed.

“The sand scarcity started two months ago. The project has been behind scheduleat least one month. The contractor’s financial plan is also affected, becausethe sand price stated in the construction contract was only 100,000 VND (4.3USD). We have submitted petitions to investors to call for support,” he said.

The Government wants to limit sand extraction because some companieshave been overexploiting sand, damaging the environment. Using artificial sand isan alternative for road building, being discussed in some areas.

Sand scarcity has also threatened the deadline of Lo Te-Rach Soi road, a keyproject that is expected to enhance connections with the southwesterneconomic hub to foster socio-economic growth of the Mekong Delta region.

Nguyen Ngoc Toan, deputy general director of Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management ofInfrastructure (CIPM), said the road foundation needs large amounts ofsand. He said the total sand reserve licensed to be exploited in thesouthwestern region is about 2.25 million cubic metres per year, while thedemand has surged to 8 to 10 million cubic metres per year.

“Licensed sand reserves meet 30 percent of real demand only. According to our estimate, the Lo Te-Rach Soi project must mobilise two millioncubic metres of sand within ten months, equal to 6,000 to 7,000 cubic metresper day. However, we have only 1,000 to 2,000 cubic metres per day,” he said.

According to Toan, many contractors have to deposit money in advance, acceptcapital loss and buy sand at a higher price than listed in the contract toaccelerate progress. However, they still cannot buy enough sand to meet theirneeds.

Vu Tuan Anh, deputy head of the Public-Private Partnership Department under theMinistry of Transport, said that the sand scarcity results in surging sandprices. For example, the price publicised by Tien Giang province in March, 2017was 200,000-250,000 VND (8.7-10.8 USD) per cubic metre of yellow sand.

Contractors now have to buy sand at 400,000-500,000 VND (17.3-21 USD) per cubicmetre.

The ministry will ask the provinces of An Giang, Tien Giang and Can Tho topublish the real price based on updated conditions, he said.-VNA