Business Times 17 Sep 09;
(HO CHI MINH CITY) Vietnam's construction ministry has asked Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to temporarily ban sand exports from November to ensure domestic supply and protect the country's environment from unrestrained production.
'We should halt sand exports until all provinces can provide specific information on reserves, exploitation capacity and plans to meet demand,' Le Van Toi, head of the ministry's Department for Construction Materials, said by phone from Hanoi yesterday.
He estimated that it may take several months for local governments to submit these reports.
Vietnam's sand exports surged from May as demand increased following Cambodia's ban on sand shipments, he said.
Unplanned dredging can cause landslides and river-bank collapses along the Mekong River in Vietnam's southern region, which provides the bulk of sand for export, Mr Toi said.
The ministry expects demand from local construction projects to rise in the coming years and domestic sand supplies may run out if exports continue at the current pace.
The South-east Asian country shipped nearly nine million cubic metres of sand in the first eight months this year, compared with a total 1.3 million cubic metres last year, Mr Toi said, citing figures from the Can Tho Customs Department, which handles most of Vietnam's sand exports.
Singapore was the biggest buyer so far this year, customs data show.
The country expects domestic demand to reach as much as 100 million cubic metres next year, 140 million cubic metres by 2015 and 197 million cubic meters by 2020, Mr Toi said, citing ministry forecasts.
Vietnam used 86 million cubic metres of sand last year, according the ministry's data.
