The Phú Quốc International Airport project accelerates construction to meet deadlines for key national events and APEC 2027. — VNA/VNS Photo

AN GIANG — Authorities in An Giang Province have tightened supervision over mineral extraction to serve strategic infrastructure projects and preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2027 summit, aiming to prevent resource losses, environmental fallout and profiteering under the guise of urgent construction demand.

As Phú Quốc accelerates work on venues and supporting infrastructure for APEC 2027, the demand for construction materials – including sand, stone and fill soil – has surged to unprecedented levels.

Provincial leaders have acknowledged that while speed is essential to meet deadlines, any lapse in oversight could result in illegal extraction, environmental degradation, traffic safety risks and public concern.

Ngô Công Thức, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said authorities are requiring comprehensive monitoring from extraction to transportation and end use, ensuring that minerals are delivered to designated projects and used strictly for approved purposes.

Under the new directive, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment has been tasked with leading inspections of mining operations, supervising environmental impact mitigation and verifying actual output volumes so that mine operators fully meet their financial obligations.

Minerals must be transported to the correct construction sites, with strict measures in place to prevent leakage into the open market.

Provincial police have been assigned a central role in field inspections and enforcement, focusing on compliance with licensed boundaries, permitted reserves and authorised extraction depths.

Documentation, invoices and transport records will be closely scrutinised to prevent contractors or suppliers from exploiting the urgency of nationally significant projects linked to APEC 2027.

The Department of Finance is coordinating with relevant agencies to stabilise material prices and prevent hoarding, price gouging or artificial inflation that could harm the State budget.

Meanwhile, the departments of Construction, and Industry and Trade are overseeing adherence to approved mine designs and the safe management of industrial explosives, ensuring both supply continuity and technical compliance.

Mine owners are required to align selling prices with the province’s resource tax calculation framework and are strictly prohibited from inflating prices.

They bear full legal responsibility for ensuring that extracted sand and stone are supplied only to designated projects.

Any violations concerning coordinates, capacity or permitted extraction depth will be handled in accordance with the law.

Contractors and project investors have also been instructed to mobilise adequate transport capacity to receive materials on schedule, submit periodic reports on volumes received and ensure that resources are used efficiently and economically, avoiding waste in projects serving APEC 2027.

According to Lê Hữu Toàn, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, total material demand for APEC-related construction is substantial, including more than 16.3 million cubic metres of fill sand, over 4.8 million cubic metres of stone and more than 5.2 million cubic metres of fill soil.

Managing extraction and supply effectively is therefore critical to maintaining progress while limiting environmental impacts and ensuring sustainable resource use.

Regarding sand supply, the Prime Minister approved the licensing of two offshore sand mines under Decision No. 948/QĐ-TTg dated May 17, 2025.

The province subsequently granted extraction licences for the Northeast and Southeast Mũi Ông Đội offshore mines in Phú Quốc, with a combined volume exceeding 6.9 million cubic metres to support embankment and land-filling works for the APEC Conference Centre and associated facilities.

The remaining reserves of more than 16.4 million cubic metres from these sites may be mobilised for other APEC projects as demand arises, effectively securing sand supply.

Fill soil is being balanced primarily from surplus excavation generated by major projects, including the Cửa Cạn reservoir, Dương Đông reservoir, the expansion of Phú Quốc International Airport and Provincial Road 975.

Authorities say these sources are largely sufficient to meet projected needs.

As for stone, the province has prioritised allocations for nationally significant expressway projects previously scheduled for distribution, including the Cần Thơ–Cà Mau Expressway and the Châu Đốc–Cần Thơ–Sóc Trăng Expressway, alongside ongoing public investment works.

In the final four months of 2025, 635,000 cubic metres were allocated from commercially licensed sources for APEC-related construction under Decision No. 948/QĐ-TTg.

Construction of the APEC Conference Centre and its supporting facilities is being accelerated to ensure timely completion for APEC 2027. — VNA/VNS Photo

A review of supply-demand balances last month indicates that of the approximately 4.8 million cubic metres of stone required for APEC 2027, more than 270,000cu.m have been delivered, leaving over 4.5 million cubic metres to be sourced.

For this year alone, demand is projected at around 2.97 million cubic metres.

The province has identified supply solutions including raising extraction capacity at three licensed mines by more than 1.47 million cubic metres and allocating an additional 635,000 cubic metres from commercial licences.

Additional volumes are expected from newly licensed operations for two enterprises and one construction contractor, with total projected extraction of about 3.7 million cubic metres – exceeding the remaining requirement of roughly 2.7 million cubic metres.

Extraction from currently licensed quarries such as Hòn Sóc and Trà Đuốc Lớn is expected to provide 1.4 million cubic metres of finished stone.

Authorities are also considering granting three new construction stone mining licences to two companies with estimated reserves of 2.58 million cubic metres and annual extraction capacity of one million cubic metres.

A new licence for the Trà Đuốc Lớn mountain quarry in Kiên Lương Commune is planned to be issued directly to a contractor responsible for APEC-related works, with annual output of 1.3 million cubic metres.

Provincial leaders stressed that sand, soil and stone supplies for APEC-related construction in 2026 and 2027 have been fully allocated in line with projected demand.

Ensuring adequate and stable material sources is expected not only to keep projects on schedule and contain cost overruns, but also to reduce risks of price volatility and prevent budget escalation. — VNS