Aerial view of a section of Can Gio district in HCMC, October 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh tran
HCMC wants to extract 10 sand mines in the maritime region of Can Gio, totaling 27 million m3 of sand, for an urban tourism area rehabilitation project.
The plan was outlined in a document sent to the Civil Affairs Committee of the HCMC People’s Committee Party. The company licensed for sand extraction, and also the main investor in the project, is the Can Gio Tourist City company.
The extension of the Can Gio urban rehabilitation zone was approved, increasing from 600 ha to 2,870 ha. The area would be built in Long Hoa commune and Can Thanh city, at an estimated cost of more than 76 trillion VND ($3.14 billion).
Previously, from 2006 to 2019, the People’s Committee of HCMC approved the study and operation of 10 sand mines in the maritime region of Can Gio for the same company. Only two mines have been approved for mining, while the rest have been approved for studies.
The city said the project would require about 138 million cubic meters of sand, which would come from sand mines, land dug to create artificial lakes, nearby sea areas and other sources. If the aforementioned 10 sand mines were used, the extracted sand would satisfy 20% of the project demand.
However, the company will need to assess the environmental impacts of such mining, in addition to carrying out other procedures, when extracting the sand, authorities said.
Can Gio, located approximately 50 km from downtown HCMC, is the city’s only coastal neighborhood, with a coastline stretching for 23 km. The district covers more than 71,300 ha, 70% of which is mangrove forests, rivers and streams.