Sand being mined from the Hậu River in Sóc Trăng Province to serve construction of the Châu Đốc - Cần Thơ - Sóc Trăng Expressway. — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Hiếu

MEKONG DELTA — Sand is being mined in a new location in the Hậu River in Sóc Trăng Province since June 30 to serve construction of a key expressway in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta.

It is in An Thạnh 1 and An Thạnh Đông communes in Cù Lao Dung District.

According to the province People's Committee, the sand will be used for component project 4 in the first phase of the Châu Đốc - Cần Thơ - Sóc Trăng Expressway.

The area covers nearly 100 hectares, and the sand is extracted from depths of 8.5 to 16 metres.

The licence allows 1.14 million cubic metres of sand to be mined over two years.

The fee for the right to extract is more than VNĐ7.7 billion (US$303,000).

There are five locations in the river in Sóc Trăng where mining is permitted with a combined area of more than 450 ha. They have an estimated 11 million cubic metres of sand.

People's Committee Vice Chairman Vương Quốc Nam has called on the contractor, Army Corps 12 - Trường Sơn Construction Corporation, to strictly comply with regulations throughout the mining operation, ensure labour safety, minimise impacts on the river and local people’s livelihoods, and coordinate closely with local authorities for monitoring and transporting sand. 

The company has promised to scrupulously comply with all regulations and requirements.

The expressway will run a total of more than 188 km through An Giang, Hậu Giang and Sóc Trăng provinces and Cần Thơ City, cost VNĐ44.7 trillion ($1.8 billion) and is expected to be completed in 2027.

The Sóc Trăng Province component is around 58.4km.

A shortage of river sand is affecting work on many major construction projects in the delta.

To mitigate the problem, the Government has approved a mechanism to increase the extraction of sand.

Using other materials in place of river sand is also under scrutiny. — VNS