Sand demand jumps due to big dev projects

The demand for sand – a key construction material – has increased significantly in Bangladesh due to numerous ongoing big infrastructure and development projects.

According to the Bangladesh Sand Mining and Merchants Association, the market for sand has grown to Tk 700-Tk 800 crore , compared to around Tk 400-Tk 450 crore five-six years ago. The annual growth of the sand industry is now 10-15 per cent.

Mega projects such as the Padma Bridge, Karnaphuli Tunnel, Metro Rail, elevated expressway, highways, economic zones, ports, power plants, modern offices and residential buildings have caused the demand for this material to skyrocket, stakeholders told The Business Post.

Sand is mined from different sites across the country, mostly from Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna rivers, and from districts such as Kushtia, Rajbari, Pabna, Munshiganj, Netrokona, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Sunamganj.

Among these sites, most of the fresh and high-quality sand comes from Sylhet and Sunamganj districts. Locally mined sand meets 100 per cent of the country’s demand, and some of the biggest sand markets in Dhaka are in Demra, Bosila, Gabtoli and Mirpur.

Providing more details, Stone and Sand Traders Association General Secretary Jahangir Alam said, “Around 7-8 lakh people are directly involved in this sector. Three types of sand – Viti Balu, Astor Balu and Dhalai Balu – are the most widely used in Bangladesh.

“We mine Viti Balu from Meghna’s Chandpur site, Astor Balu from Padma’s Paksey area, and Dhalai Balu from the Sylhet region. Dhalai Balu or red sand is used specifically for piling and concrete flooring.”

Jahangir, also the proprietor of Alif Builders, added, “Nearly 25 per cent of our red sand comes from Fazilpur area of Sunamganj, while 15 per cent comes from Gowainghat of Sylhet. Some of the sand also comes from Mymensingh and the Durgapur area of Netrokona.

“There are 100 registered sand traders from Kanchpur Bridge area to Demra Bazar.”

Another sand trader based in the capital’s Gabtoli area, Mohammad Mostafa said, “Gabtoli Balughat is one of the biggest sand markets in the city. Around 800-1,000 trucks of sand are sold in the market every day.

“We sell one truck of Astor Balu for Tk 3,500-Tk 4,000 and per truck Sylhet sand for Tk 8,000-Tk 12,000 while Viti Balu is sold for Tk 1,500-Tk 1,600. Customers from different parts of the city come here to purchase sand daily.”

Challenges in the sector

Jahangir claimed that extortion in naval routes is a big challenge for sand traders. The cost of sand goes up due to extortion and high carrying costs.

He continued, “We have to pay extortion money at around 10-15 points from Sylhet to Dhaka. We pay about Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 per shipment to political goons and police. Besides, lease holders also demand Tk 3,000 to Tk 5,000 from us.”

“For the last two years, the government had closed several sand quarries in Sylhet region after designating those as tourist spots. This caused the price of red sand to soar. But prices are now coming down as quarries resumed operations in June.”

Jahangir urged the government not to prevent sand extraction from quarries and work on curbing extortion in the sector.

Industry insiders say the sector suffers from a lot of indiscipline and irregularities due to a lack of proper monitoring by the state-run agencies, and this affects the whole process from mining to sales.

They pointed out that miners used to extract sand from specific places after taking permission from the government. But some miners – backed by local influential people – are now lifting sand from anywhere they please – which is disrupting the whole sector.

On the issue, Bangladesh Sand Mining and Merchants Association President Mashiur Rahman said, “Miners who illegally extract sand are tarnishing the image of the whole sector. We extract sand only after taking permission from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

“But there are a lot of miners who are mining sand without permission from the authorities concerned. This illegal move erodes the river banks, and the government should work on preventing such unplanned mining to protect the environment.”