Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh chaired the conference.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy PM said that Vietnam has large reserves of exploited sand and gravel, mainly located in river beds. The country had 824 licensed sand and gravel mines as of May 2017.
He also emphasised that the PM has issued numerous documents and directed ministries, agencies and localities to enhance the management of sand and gravel exploitation as well as promote measures to prevent and resolutely handle cases of law violation in this field.
Deputy PM Binh asked ministries, agencies and localities to raise their responsibility as well as closely work together to create remarkable changes in managing sand and gravel, significantly contributing to the country’s economic development as well as the protection of environmental resources and social order.
He stressed that the Ministry of Transport must coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and relevant agencies to draft a decree on issuing regulations to manage the dredging and maintenance of navigable channels, seaport waters and waterways.
The MoT should work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and People’s Committees of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to inspect, promptly detect and strictly handle violations in sand and gravel exploitation, he added.
The Deputy PM also asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, relevant ministries, agencies and localities to review and evaluate the status of coastal erosion as well as research into and form plans for the use of saline sand recovered from dredging projects to build up eroded coastal areas.
Ministries, agencies and localities need to accelerate the implementation of measures to ensure the safety and sustainable development for areas affected by sand exploitation and riverine and coastal erosion as well as serious issues in the Mekong River Delta and the Mid-Central regions, noted the Deputy PM.
He also urged the Ministry of Public Security to focus on prosecuting criminals involved in illegal sand and gravel exploitation.
