Ho Chi Minh City only meets 4% of leveling sand
On January 12, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang chaired a working session with leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and relevant departments and agencies to listen to reports on the current situation and supply capacity of construction materials in the city.
Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction Tran Quang Lam said that the city is facing the risk of lacking both construction stone and sand. The main reason is that many infrastructure, transportation, and urban embellishment projects are being implemented simultaneously, causing demand to increase sharply while the exploitation and transportation capacity has not kept up.
This year, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to lack about 30% of construction stone resources. However, if existing mines are extended, capacity increased and new mines are put into operation soon, basic demand can be met" - Mr. Lam said.
Meanwhile, construction sand is heavily dependent on external sources. Currently, about 36% of Ho Chi Minh City's sand comes from dredging the Dong Nai and Saigon rivers, and the rest from the western provinces and Cambodia.
For leveling sand alone, the city can only meet about 4%, almost completely dependent on external sources, of which Cambodia is a large source of supply but prices fluctuate and are difficult to control.
According to Mr. Tran Quang Lam, scarce supply causes material prices to increase, and the supply-demand gap is large. Transportation costs currently account for about 25 - 30% of the cost, creating pressure on the total investment, affecting the construction progress and disbursement work.
Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City said that in 2026, the city's demand for construction stone is estimated at more than 28 million m3, while the capacity to meet it is about 23 million m3.
In the first quarter of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will complete the auction of 5 stone mines and propose an early licensing mechanism to put these mines into operation to serve key projects.
For sand, the total source being managed is about 67 million m3 but only more than 3 million m3 has been mobilized. The Department proposes to allow dredging of streams, lakes and main rivers to supplement the sand source; the shortage will continue to be taken from external sources.
Tighten price management, prevent speculation
Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong said that it is necessary to select strategic investors to directly exploit stone and sand mines to serve key projects. The Department of Construction needs to announce material prices monthly, closely following actual prices.
Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc requested to synchronously implement solutions, streamline administrative procedures, and clearly identify stone and sand mines that can increase exploitation capacity.
For leveling sand, the city needs to study the exploitation of sand dunes, alluvial grounds along the banks and river mouths, accompanied by technical solutions to reduce environmental impacts; at the same time, strictly control transportation and strictly handle speculation and price manipulation.
Concluding the working session, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang emphasized that ensuring sufficient construction materials is a key condition to accelerate progress and disburse public investment.
The Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee requested to strictly manage the transportation and distribution stages, not to let speculation and price manipulation occur; study the mechanism of directly allocating mines to investors and large contractors of key projects.
In the long term, Ho Chi Minh City needs to study the use of sea sand and recycle building materials to ensure stable supply and sustainable development.
