HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will build a national database on construction material supplies and establish an inter-regional coordination mechanism to address local shortages and ensure materials for major national projects.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to study the development of the database with information on mines, reserves, extraction capacity, demand and the potential to coordinate supplies among localities.

The national construction material supply database is expected to be regularly updated to support management and policy decisions. A national digital map of construction material supplies will also be published annually to support policymaking and help local authorities plan the extraction and use of materials.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is also tasked with developing a reserve mechanism for construction material supplies, together with a construction material supply-demand forecasting system.

An inter-regional and inter-provincial construction material coordination mechanism must be developed by October to ensure materials priority for important national projects, the deputy PM said.

Provincial and municipal authorities must complete and approve assessments of minerals potential by the second quarter of 2027, to ensure adequate supplies for socio-economic development and major projects. 

Reviews of operating mines should be carried out to evaluate room for increasing their extraction capacity where legally permitted.

The move follows a review by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, which concluded that Việt Nam's mineral resources were sufficient to meet socio-economic development needs, but noted that they are unevenly distributed.

Many localities have abundant resources, large reserves and room to increase extraction capacity, but demand for construction materials is heavily concentrated in areas where multiple major projects are being carried out simultaneously, leading to temporary local shortages of materials.

Delays in geological surveys, mineral potential assessments, planning updates, preparation of mining areas, licensing, expansion of existing mines and coordination among localities have failed to keep pace with demand, contributing to the shortages, the ministry said.

The ministry said the country's main challenge is therefore not a lack of mineral resources, but the need to improve resource management and coordinate supplies at the national level. — BIZHUB/VNS