HCMC – Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway may face a shortage of sand as the supply committed by the Mekong Delta provinces is much lower than needed.
With construction work started this year, the expressway needs 18 million cubic meters of sand while sand-supplying provinces can only supply three million cubic meters of sand.
The My Thuan Project Management Board, the project investor, said the shortage of sand would affect the progress of the Can Tho-Ca Mau expressway project.
To date, only the Dong Thap authority has decided to increase its sand mining capacity.
A Ministry of Transport report said that the construction of expressway projects in the Mekong Delta region requires up to 53 million cubic meters of sand in the 2023-2025 period.
Currently, 24 sand mines that could provide qualified sand for the project are located in An Giang, Dong Thap and Vinh Long provinces, with a capacity of eight million cubic meters of sand per year. However, the remaining capacity of these mines cannot provide sufficient sand for the North-South expressway project.
To cope with the situation, the Ministry of Transport requested localities to ensure sufficient sand supply for the North-South expressway project. However, till now, only two localities could provide around three million cubic meters, including An Giang with 1.1 million cubic meters of sand and Dong Thap with 1.9 million cubic meters of sand.
