Addressing the severe shortage of sand for infrastructure projects has become an urgent global priority, presenting significant challenges for Vietnam and other regions worldwide. Rising global demand Driven by economic growth, urbanization, population expansion, and climate change, the global demand for sand has skyrocketed to 50 billion tons annually over the past two decades, tripling since the late 20th century. The Asia-Pacific region leads in sand mining, followed by Europe and North America. China stands out as the largest consumer, having used more construction concrete from 2011 to 2013 than the entire U.S. did in the 20th century. Singapore and the UAE also demand substantial amounts, with the latter using 185 million cubic meters to construct artificial islands for tourism, depleting local offshore sources and necessitating sand imports from Australia. Notably, sand ranks as the second most extracted resource after water. From 1985 to 2015, humans utilized vast amounts to create 13,500 square kilometers of artificial land, equivalent to Puerto Rico’s size. The global sand scarcity has driven prices up sixfold in the past two decades. In 2022, the average price in the U.S. was US$11 per ton, rising to US$10-50 per ton across various countries and territories by 2023, […]