Artificial sand: As good as the original and much cheaper

The strong development of infrastructure in Vietnam has placed generated growing demand for sand for construction. At the same time, illegal sand mining in rivers, estuaries and channels is growing, leading to erosion and landslides and increasing sand prices.

Hoa Binh Province in northern Vietnam has many quarries. In order to make the most of its advantage, a project on using artificial (or crushed stone) sand was approved by the Hoa Binh People’s Committee on June 9.

According to the Hoa Binh Department of Industry and Trade, the project drives towards utilizing crushed stone to replace traditional sand for making concrete. In particular, a mixture of crushed stone and traditional sand in various ratios will meet construction standards.

Currently, the cost of crushed stone is only half that of traditional sand in the market.

Tran Ba Viet, deputy director of the Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology under the Ministry of Construction, said using artificial sand is an effective and long-term solution for the problem of natural sand shortages. Construction works in Vietnam mainly use gold sand from rivers and streams. Many Vietnamese businesses imported sand from Cambodia in the past, but that country has prohibited the exploitation of natural sand.

With demand rising and prices skyrocketing, many businesses have already been using crushed stone instead of traditional sand for making concrete. In the south, crushed stone is taken from quarries in the provinces of Kien Giang, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.