Ministry seeks to stop sand exports

VnnNews – The Ministry of Construction, which investigated the on-going sand mining and export in the Cuu Long Delta, has asked the Government to set a deadline

The Ministry of Construction has asked the Government to set a deadline for completing export deals signed last year.

The investigation, done by inspectors from the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment and Construction from September 7 to 13, considered the exploitation, transport, consumption, and export of sand in Can Tho city and An Giang, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Hau Giang, and Kien Giang provinces.

Le Van Toi, head of the ministry’s Department of Construction Materials, said the ministry recommended to the PM to set a deadline of October 31 this year for fulfilling export contracts signed by November 30 last year.

There is no deadline yet though the Government last October banned exports if contracts were signed after November 30.

Toi said the ministry also petitioned the Government to study the demand and supply of sand in the country since the domestic demand would increase rapidly in coming years.

But existing sand deposits and continuing deposition by rivers mean the country has enough sand to meet the demand, he said.

With the distribution of sand not even in the country, however, planning is needed to balance the demand and supply in various regions, he said.

Domestic demand is estimated to reach 93-100 million cubic metres next year, rising to 182-197 million cubic metres in 2020, according to the ministry.

All city and provincial authorities must act to eliminate illegal mining, he said.

Toi also said inspectors discovered that illegal mining and exports had increased sharply in recent months, with local authorities being unable to control it in many places.

The customs office at Can Tho port has decided to file criminal charges against Ngo Thi Thu Nguyet, director of the An Giang Province-based Dat Thanh Nguyen Company, for allegedly exporting sand illegally, the city police said on Tuesday.

On August 7, a company representative came to the customs office to clear a shipment of two million cubic metres bound for Singapore under a contract signed last October.

The office discovered that the contract was actually signed in June this year but the company had fraudulently altered the date to get around the Government’s ban on shipments under contracts signed after November 30.

It also seized a Dat Thanh Nguyen vessel carrying 8,500 tonnes of sand.

The office has transferred the case to the Can Tho Investigation Police for prosecution.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Million Cubic Metres, The Government, The Ministry, Physics games

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