Unprecedented Spike in Construction Material Prices: Prime Minister Calls for Investigation by the Ministry of Public Security.

On June 10th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Dispatch No. 85/CD-TTg to ministers of the Ministries of Public Security, Construction, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Industry and Trade, as well as to the Chairpersons of the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities regarding enhancing measures to manage and stabilize construction material prices.

According to the dispatch, in recent times, the prices of several construction materials, especially sand, gravel, stones, bricks, and land filling and road foundation materials, have surged abnormally, directly affecting construction costs and progress.

The main reasons for this situation include factors influencing the supply and demand of the construction material market, delays and bottlenecks in licensing for sand, gravel, and stone mining, as well as speculation, hoarding, price gouging, and signs of market manipulation and monopolization.

The Prime Minister requested the Minister of Construction to urge and closely coordinate with local authorities to regularly monitor the market situation and price fluctuations of construction materials to proactively devise solutions for timely price reductions, especially for construction materials such as sand, stones, gravel, bricks, and land filling and road foundation materials. In cases exceeding their authority, they must promptly report to competent authorities for timely and effective decisions.

At the same time, it is necessary to promptly review and guide local authorities in assessing and synthesizing the demand for construction materials in their respective areas. Collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to guide and direct localities in planning, identifying mines, sources of supply, capacity, and supply potential to ensure a balance between supply and demand. Promptly address any difficulties and obstacles, especially local and national shortages, by June 20, 2025.

Strengthen guidance for localities to update and publish construction material prices and construction indices under their management promptly, ensuring an accurate reflection of the constituent costs of construction materials and alignment with market price levels.

The Prime Minister requested the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to urgently finalize and promulgate, in an expedited manner, a decree detailing a number of articles and measures for implementing the Law on Geology and Minerals by July 1, reducing administrative procedures and business conditions in mineral exploitation licensing to the maximum extent, especially for common minerals used as construction materials. This will help address the urgent need for sand, gravel, stones, and land filling materials for road construction, with a completion date set for June 15.

The Minister of Industry and Trade was assigned to direct the functional agencies in charge of market management to strengthen inspections and promptly detect and handle acts of speculation, hoarding, and unreasonable price increases in construction materials.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Public Security to coordinate with relevant agencies to investigate and strictly handle organizations and individuals that manipulate the market, speculate, and take advantage of the production and trading of construction materials, as well as acts of covering up, protecting, or neglecting to thoroughly handle violations, allowing them to recur.

The Government Inspectorate was requested to promptly identify and conduct inspections of common construction material supply sources in key areas and strictly handle violations in accordance with the law.