52K tons of river sand from Malaysia to be auctioned next week

The second consignment reached the city on a Malaysian vessel, Reffles Quay, on Wednesday night. The delivery is expected to commence next week after the auction. The PWD (Mines) sold its first consignment of the river sand from Malaysia at Rs 13.04 crore and made a profit to the tune ofRs 47 lakh.

A senior official said, “We sold out the complete stock within two months. We are expecting the third Malaysian vessel, Acirabee Naree, in another two days. It carries nearly 55,000 tons of river sand to meet the surging demand.”

The President, Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Association, S Yuvaraj, said, “The load is being transported in and around the Chennai region. No one is ready to transport the consignment to Southern districts as it will increase the cost.”

“Last time, we had received orders to deliver sand to Villupuram region. We decided to offload the consignment at the Kamarjar port in Ennore because the Southern districts are heavily dependent upon the m-sand for construction works. Also, the demand for sand is way too high in Chennai and its adjoining regions when compared to the other places,” the official added.

This time, the government has simplified the process for booking orders by opening a special counter at the Kamarajar port. “Many are unaware of the online process to book consignments. Often, drivers book fresh load of sand with the aid of middlemen. We made the facility available online as the middlemen were trying to exploit the drivers,” said the official.

Although the authorities have not yet announced the pricing system, a single unit of river sand was sold at Rs 10,350.