Recorded in Hoa Binh City, the price of construction sand has increased from 250,000 VND/m3 to about 380,000 VND/m3; golden sand from 500,000 VND to 700,000 VND/m3. Brick prices have doubled, from 900 VND to 1,800 VND/tael. Steel - accounting for a large proportion of total costs - also increased from VND9,500 to about VND10,500/kg.
"Iron and steel alone accounts for about 15 - 20% of the total value of building a house. The sudden increase in material prices has caused businesses to face a difficult situation: no one will accept the price increase, if they keep the old price, there will only be a way to do unficial construction to maintain their reputation," said Mr. Dat - representative of a construction company in Hoa Binh City.
Not only in the city, many contractors in the mountainous districts of Hoa Binh are also in a similar situation. Mr. Thai - representative of a local business - said: "The mountainous terrain makes transporting materials very difficult. Materials have increased in price, and dozens of kilometers of mountain passes have declined, and people have postponed their house construction plans, while businesses are stuck in the middle: they cannot increase prices, and cannot make losses.
In Son La, the situation is even more difficult due to lack of on-site supply. According to Mr. Tung - representative of a local construction enterprise - because there is no separate mine, the units are forced to buy sand through intermediaries and bear additional transportation costs. "Each cubic meter of sand adds 80,000 - 100,000 VND for gasoline alone and road toll fees," said Mr. Tung.
In addition to sand prices, other essential materials such as stone, cement, steel, etc. have also increased, although the increase is not too large, the accumulation has caused the total cost to increase significantly. It is worth mentioning that most of the signed construction contracts have fixed unit prices, causing businesses to "enough".
Mr. Nguyen Van Ha - representative of a unit constructing a commune house and school project - said that the sand price has increased by more than 300% compared to the beginning of the year, causing the cost of building to increase too much. "If we do not rush to buy materials at new prices, we will only abandon the project," said Mr. Ha.
According to many businesses, accessing legal sand sources is increasingly difficult due to shortage of mines, regulations to tighten mining activities and prolonged licensing procedures. Many units are forced to buy sand through many intermediaries, causing prices to increase many times.
Faced with this situation, construction enterprises in Hoa Binh and Son La have recommended that the authorities promptly review the planning of sand mines, publicize the price list of materials in the locality, and consider adjusting the unit prices of packages under construction to protect the rights of enterprises.
With mountainous characteristics, high transportation costs and limited access to materials, construction businesses are struggling to overcome the "price storm" that has not shown any signs of cooling down. Without timely support policies, the risk of many small contractors being forced to withdraw from the market is inevitable - leading to significant consequences for the progress of infrastructure works and people's lives in the area.
