The price of construction materials in the provinces in the Central Highlands region has continuously increased, causing businesses and local authorities to worry when the progress of key projects is affected.
Construction material prices escalate
In Gia Lai, the sudden increase in sand prices has caused many construction enterprises to struggle to find supply.
Mr. Mai Hoang, the owner of a private enterprise in Pleiku City, shared: "During the peak construction season, sand prices suddenly increased, causing businesses to face the risk of losses, forcing them to recalculate material costs."
Currently, businesses mainly exploit sand from mines in Phu Thien district and Ayun Pa town, more than 60km from the center of Pleiku city. Some sand sources are also transported from Ngoc Hoi and Kon Ray districts ( Kon Tum province).
Mr. Tran Van Chinh, representative of an infrastructure construction company in Gia Lai, said: " Increased sand prices risk overcharging and narrowing contractor profits. Many times the company has to wait 4-5 days to have a supply of sand, while still having to pay the workers regularly".
A similar situation is also happening in Dak Lak province, pushing many businesses into a passive position.
A representative of An Nguyen Company Limited (Dak Lak) said: "The continuous increase in sand prices has greatly affected the operations of enterprises. Although we have carefully planned the budget and accounted for each item, the sudden increase in materials makes it very difficult to handle.
Especially for projects using State capital, contractors are required to report and propose investors to arrange additional funding. However, this process often takes a lot of time, significantly affecting the progress of the winning projects. This situation is also happening in Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces - the Southern Central Highlands region, in the context of entering the peak of the construction season.
Impact on key projects
Economic records at key projects being implemented in Dak Lak province such as Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway, the East bypass project through Buon Ma Thuot city... show a serious shortage of construction materials, especially sand. Explaining the reason, a representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dak Lak province said that the low river water level has caused many ships to be unable to exploit sand as usual. Meanwhile, in Lam Dong, the situation of high construction material prices is also seriously affecting the progress of public investment projects.
Mr. Tran Hong Thai - Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee - said: "The Provincial People's Committee is directing relevant units to quickly resolve the unusually high price of construction materials.
To speed up the progress of public investment projects, it is necessary to first ensure a smooth supply of materials and stable prices".
Continuously over the past 2 months, Dak Lak Provincial Police forces have conducted a general review of all activities of exploitation, transportation and consumption of river sand and gravel as construction materials. Thereby, a series of cases and means of illegal sand mining were discovered in some sections of the river.
