Kien Giang Province authorities have urged the Ministry of Natural Re-sources and Environment and Navy to stop the export of sand mined by dredging Naval Port Zone 5 in Phu Quoc Island and then to stop the dredging itself since it caused erosion along the coast.

A sand mining boat besides a giant vessel of Singapore. Photo: tuoitre

In a dispatch to the Kien Giang administration, the People's Committee of Phu Quoc Island said the dredging of the channel into the military port has eroded around a kilometre of coast, destroying many trees and posing a further threat of erosion.

The dredging is being done by Duc Long Ltd and Hai Viet JSC.

The work, which began in mid-2010, was suspended soon afterwards following a ban on export of sand by the Government in June 2010.

However, the Government exempted the project contractors, allowing them to continue exporting sand.

Last week four large ferries carried sand from Phu Quoc to the Singapore-flagged Ocean Colossus.

Thus far more than 230,000 tonnes of sand have been transported to Singapore.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper quoted a source from the Kien Giang administration as saying that Duc Long and Hai Viet have dredged the passage and exported sand, but have yet to report how much they sold or pay the fees prescribed for excavating mineral resources.

Meanwhile, many construction projects are under way on Phu Quoc Island, many licensed by the Government, and they require huge volumes of sand for ground levelling.

In a dispatch to the Government, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Navy, the Kien Giang People's Committee urged them to suspend the exports and use the sand for the construction works in Phu Quoc.

It also called for suspending the dredging and taking urgent measures to stop the coastal erosion.

But in a reply, Rear Admiral Doan Van So, Commander of Naval Force Zone 5, said dredging the passage was "imperative and urgent" for military purposes.

Duc Long and Hai Viet had violated clauses in the contracts and so in mid-November this year Naval Force Zone 5 cancelled them, he said.

He claimed the erosion was caused by the impact of climate change and changes in the water flow rather than the dredging.

He also said any decision to call off the work can only be made by the Navy High Command and not his unit.