Perspective of Cần Giờ  sea reclamation tourist urban area in HCM City's Cần Giờ District. — Photo vneconomy.vn

HCM CITY — HCM City plans to exploit 10 sand mines with total reserve of 27 million cu.m in Cần Giờ Sea for levelling demand of the Cần Giờ sea reclamation tourism urban area project.

The municipal People’s Committee has just submitted a proposal to the Party Committee to permit Cần Giờ Urban Tourism Joint Stock Company to exploit sand in the Cần Giờ Sea.

The Cần Giờ sea reclamation tourism urban area project with five sub-divisions invested of VNĐ76 trillion (over US$3.2 billion) has been approved by the Prime Minister to adjust the area from 600ha to 2,870ha located in Long Hoà Commune and Cần Thạnh Township in HCM City’s Cần Giờ District.

This is a large-scale and key project of HCM City.

According to the report of environmental impact evaluation, the project's backfilling sand volume approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is nearly 138 million cu.m.

As expected, this levelling sand source will be taken from mines that have been surveyed and explored in the Cần Giờ Sea, from excavated soil from the artificial lakes, from neighbouring sea areas and from other places.

Previously, from 2006 to 2019, the People's Committee issued licenses to explore and exploit minerals for 10 saline sand mines for the Cần Giờ Urban Tourism Joint Stock Company in Cần Giờ waters with a total reserve of more than 27 million m3, of which two mines of Long Hoà 1 and 2 have been granted exploitation licenses while the remaining eight mines have just been granted exploration permits.

The sand exploited in the 10 mines will meet about 20 per cent of demand of backfilling sand of the project.

The city also evaluates that using sea sand (saline sand) from sand mines in the Cần Giờ Sea will create favourable conditions for project implementation.

However, the company needs to conduct an environmental impact assessment and some other procedures before exploiting the sand mines.

After sand mining is approved, the city's Department of Natural Resources and Environment will be assigned to guide the company in carrying out procedures for environmental impact assessment, hydraulic and hydrological assessment of the exploitation of sand mining, and procedures for applying for a mineral exploitation license according to regulations.

Cần Giờ is about 50km from the centre of HCM City and the only district bordering the sea with 23km of coastline.

The locality has a total area of​​ more than 71,300ha, of which over 70 per cent are mangrove forests and rivers and canals. — VNS