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Vietnam halts sand exports from Mekong Delta
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered suspension of sand exports from the Mekong Delta as well as an inspection of sand mining and consumption nationwide.
The suspension also applies to export contracts signed before November 30, 2008.
Following recent complaints from ministries and local press about economic and environmental threats posed by uncontrolled sand exports from the delta, the PM has also asked all provinces and cities to employ stricter measures against illegal mining and export of sand and pebbles.
The Mekong Delta, which accounts for most of the country’s sand exports, had shipped 9.2 million cubic meters of sand in the first eight months this year, compared with a total 1.1 million cubic meters last year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE).
The region has granted at least 128 licenses which allow mining of 321.6 million cubic meters of sand.
MNRE and the Ministry of Construction had requested the PM last month to ban sand exports, saying unplanned dredging can cause landslides and riverbank collapses along the Mekong River in Vietnam’s southern region while unrestrained exports can exhaust the nation’s sand resources.
“We should halt sand exports until all provinces can provide specific information on reserves, exploitation capacity and plans to meet demand,” Le Van Toi, head of the Department for Construction Materials at the Construction Ministry, said in an interview with Bloomberg on September 16.
thanhnien, tt
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