Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested that relevant ministries, agencies, and localities enhance their management over the conduct of auctions for mining rights, particularly for minerals used as common construction materials, to ensure they meet regulations.

The direction was given after legal violations were uncovered in recent auctions for the mining rights at three sand mines in Hanoi. The winning bid was many times higher than the starting price, thus causing public concern as well as possible negative effects on socio-economic development and the construction materials market, according to a dispatch he issued on November 11.

Prime Minister Chinh asked authorities in Hanoi to immediately examine the entire process of surveying and evaluating mine reserves, preparing documents, and organizing auctions related to the three sand mines, in order to promptly detect and strictly handle any violations of regulations on mining right auctions. They were ordered to report the results to the Prime Minister before November 20.

The government leader asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies, and localities to inspect the organization of mining rights auctions, to review and identify inadequacies in legal regulations with a view to fixing them to prevent profiteering, and to strictly handle violations that create market disturbance.