On January 3rd, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh - Standing Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee - signed a decision approving the appraisal results of the environmental impact assessment report of the construction sand mine exploitation project in Ia Rsai and Uar communes.
This project has been approved by the People's Committee of Gia Lai province (old) for investment policy, and at the same time approved the investor in June 2025; recognizing the results of winning the auction of construction sand mineral exploitation rights at the Chu Gu sand mine, Krong Pa district (old).
Khanh Thanh Phat Gia Lai Co., Ltd. is the investor of the project with a total area of 112,300 m2. In which, the design and exploitation area belonging to Ia Rsai commune has an area of 100,000 m2.
The total reserve put into the exploitation design is 560,000 m3 of geological sand, with a total exploitation time of 10 years. The exploitation capacity is as follows: the first year and the 10th year (last year) are 40,000 m3 of geological sand/year; from the 2nd year to the 9th year is 60,000 m3 of geological sand/year.
Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee requests businesses to be responsible for monitoring riverbank erosion, creating a riverbank development monitoring book, and fully recording when there is a riverbank erosion phenomenon.
Functional agencies assess that mining activities such as internal transportation from the mine to the storage area, transporting finished products for consumption... pose a risk of causing riverbank geological instability, leading to landslides; disrupting the natural flow of the river, affecting aquatic habitats; damaging local transport infrastructure.
Therefore, local authorities and project investors are responsible for handling and monitoring environmental incidents to promptly report and soon have preventive plans. Investors, in addition to environmental deposits, must also comply with other regulations such as reinforcing riverbanks when there is a risk of landslides, restoring and improving the environment, repairing and upgrading roads with transport vehicles.
As Lao Dong Newspaper reflected, the Ba River flowing through Krong Pa district (old) has abundant sand reserves. However, for a long time, illegal sand mining often occurred here, causing public outrage.
The situation of illegal sand mining, not installing weigh stations to evade taxes, illegal sand mining, sand without invoices and documents, mining exceeding designed capacity... has caused loss of tax revenue from the State.
In 2024, the local government once proposed that the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province soon complete the procedures for granting mineral exploitation rights to sand mines in the area.
The closure of some sand mines and slow procedures for issuing new sand mines have caused this important construction material to be seriously scarce. Local people, contractors, construction units building houses, and transport infrastructure have to buy sand at high prices.
It's a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit.
