HCMC – Can Tho authorities are considering purchasing commercial sand to address severe material shortages threatening the progress of the Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway, a key infrastructure project in the Mekong Delta.
Can Tho City Project Management Board for Transport and Agricultural Construction Investment has proposed buying around 800,000 cubic meters of commercial sand to maintain roadbed embankment work and avoid construction delays.
The phase-one expressway project stretches roughly 188 kilometers with four lanes and a designed speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Total investment capital is estimated at VND44.69 trillion. Sections running through Can Tho City include components 2, 3 and 4, totaling more than 132 kilometers and requiring around 16.65 million cubic meters of sand for embankment and road foundation work.
So far, only about 10.579 million cubic meters have been delivered to construction sites.
Authorities have worked with neighboring provinces including An Giang, Dong Thap and Vinh Long to secure additional supply, but extraction activities continue to face obstacles. Several sand mines have suspended operations over erosion concerns or licensing procedures, while operating mines have low output.
Sea sand suppliers for sections in the former Soc Trang Province have also encountered difficulties due to unfavorable weather and high offshore extraction costs.
According to the project management board, said component 2 alone needs around 800,000 cubic meters of sand by the end of July to complete the first-stage embankment loading process. If newly licensed mines fail to begin operations on schedule, commercial sand purchases would become necessary.
According to project estimates, commercial sand costs around VND193,000 per cubic meter, VND113,000 higher than the original budgeted price. Using commercial sand for the remaining shortfall in components 2 and 4 could increase costs by nearly VND360 billion.
