These projects including the Long Thanh International Airport, the Bien Hoa–Vung Tau Expressway and the Ring Road No. 3 in Ho Chi Minh City are in the stage of accelerating construction progress.
Supply of materials lags behind demand
Amid the scarcity of construction materials, projects face the risk of falling behind schedule as directed by the Prime Minister.
In 2025, the Long Thanh International Airport construction project requires nearly 5 million cubic meters of stone, but as of mid-May, only about 1.2 million cubic meters had been delivered to the site, leading to material shortages and construction delays.
Dong Nai Province committed to supplying 4.3 million cubic meters of stone from quarry clusters including Tan Cang 1, Tan Cang 2, Tan Cang 3, Tan Cang 4, Tan Cang 5, Tan Cang 6, Tan Cang 7, Tan Cang 8, Tan Cang 9, Soklu 2 and Soklu 5, and Ap Mieu quarry. However, the stone quality from Soklu 2 and Soklu 5 has uneven quality, with much of the weathered rock, unsuitable for airport construction.
According to Mr. Duong Quang Dien, Deputy Director of the Long Thanh Airport Project Management Board, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has petitioned the Dong Nai People's Committee to allocate additional, higher-quality stone quarries and resolve legal obstacles, ensuring contractors receive their assigned volumes.
Regarding material used for backfilling, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway project requires over 2.3 million cubic meters, but currently, only about one million cubic meters are available at the construction site to serve the ongoing work.
At present, most quarries have limited reserves, uneven quality, while several sites, which were approved in principle by the province, are still awaiting procedural guidance to complete the documentation for mining permits.
Similarly, the Ring Road 3 project in Ho Chi Minh City requires about 2.3 million cubic meters, but the supply capacity of the quarries does not meet the demand.
According to the leaders from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Nai Province, as of the end of 2024, the province has 44 valid mineral exploitation licenses. Among them, the reserves of construction stone amount to nearly 294 million cubic meters, with an annual exploitation capacity of 22.7 million cubic meters; construction sand reserves are about 3.6 million cubic meters, with an annual exploitation capacity of 0.5 million cubic meters; and leveling materials have reserves of 0.8 million cubic meters, with an annual exploitation capacity of 0.06 million cubic meters.
The provincial People's Committee leaders have instructed to extend mineral exploitation licenses, adjust and supplement investment certificates, revise zoning plans, and approve land use plans. However, it is essential to have much time to complete the required procedures.
Currently, construction materials for key projects are in short supply. For construction stone alone, ten quarries in the Tam Phuoc – Phuoc Tan cluster have only 1.89 million cubic meters remaining, while the demand is 6.4 million cubic meters to serve major projects such as the Long Thanh International Airport, the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway and the Ring Road No.3 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Meanwhile, the supply progress for key transportation projects in the Southern region must be completed by 2025.
Increasing exploitation capacity
To ensure the supply of construction stone, the local authorities are considering allowing the transfer of rights for nine applications and adjusting the land use duration for the Thanh Phu 3 quarry project in Vinh Cuu District; also approved land leasing, land use conversion and adjustments to investment certificates for several other stone quarries.
Specifically, for the Long Thanh International Airport construction project, provincial authorities have worked with quarry owners to resolve procedural obstacles related to mining and to increase the capacity of the quarries.
The leaders of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee have proposed the central government allow the application of special mechanisms for mineral exploitation for the Long Thanh International Airport project. If approved, the province will increase the capacity of stone quarries by 50 percent to address the material shortages that are currently hindering the progress of project construction.
For leveling soil, the province has licensed six sites with a total volume of nearly 4.4 million cubic meters. Currently, four additional sites are under consideration, and approximately one million cubic meters of fill material are extracted from stone quarries, with the potential to supply up to six million cubic meters for national key projects in the locality.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Nai Province has also proposed that the Provincial People's Committee reallocate excess fill material from the Bau Can and Phuoc Binh quarries to projects being under material shortages.
As for sand used for leveling, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee has requested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment study and provide additional supply from the Southwestern provinces.
According to Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang, the province has recently issued numerous documents adjusting the allocation of stone volumes to contractors and individual quarries for key projects both within and outside the province. However, due to legal obstacles related to land and investment procedures, the mining capacity of many mineral quarries has been restricted, resulting in an insufficient supply of materials to construction sites.
The Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee has proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment allow enterprises that have not yet completed land lease procedures to continue exploiting minerals on already licensed areas until December 31, 2025, to serve key transportation projects in the province.
