On the afternoon of June 28, the Ministry of Transport issued a press release on expanding the use of sea sand for highway construction.

Currently, the Mekong Delta region is implementing construction of expressways such as: Can Tho - Hau Giang, Hau Giang - Ca Mau, Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang, An Huu - Cao Lanh and a number of other key projects.

The total demand for sand for projects is about 50 million m³. However, the river sand source and exploitation capacity have not yet met the demand and construction progress despite the application of a special mechanism in the level of material mines. Currently, only about 37 million m³ have been identified.

Faced with the above situation, the Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to research alternative material solutions, including the use of sea sand as roadbed material in suitable areas.

Therefore, the Ministry of Transport has closely coordinated with relevant agencies to systematically, carefully, scientifically and objectively implement the pilot project on the DT.978 repatriation section of the Hau Giang - Ca Mau expressway.

The pilot results show that the physical and mechanical indicators meet the standards for roadbed construction materials. The construction work of sea sand is carried out similarly to river sand. So far, there has been no sign of increased salinity in the surrounding environment. The Ministry of Transport has proposed to continue organizing the expanded pilot construction.

On June 21, Soc Trang province issued a certificate of area, capacity, volume, equipment method, plan and environmental protection in the exploitation of minerals for common construction materials to serve the construction of the North-South Eastern Expressway in the 2021-2025 period (areas B1.1 and B1.2).

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has issued a decision on the assignment of the right to use the sea area of ​​Soc Trang province to the construction unit to exploit sea sand to serve the construction of the Hau Giang - Ca Mau project.

On June 29, the contractor will organize the exploitation and is expected to conduct a pilot construction of the road embankment on July 1. Specifically, the scope of the pilot construction expansion is selected from Km 81+000 to the end of the main route at Km 126+223 and from Km 6+522 to Km 16+510 of the Ca Mau connecting route.

"The expansion of the pilot construction on the North-South Expressway project in the East is an important basis for evaluating and expanding the scope of using sea sand as roadbed material for expressway projects being implemented in the region," said the Ministry of Transport.