WASHINGTON: Cambodia’s government has permanently banned exports of sand for construction and sand mud from Koh Kong province amid impact concerns, but an environmental group on Tuesday urged it to end the export of all types of sand and demanded greater transparency for the industry’s practices. Mines and Energy minister Suy Sem announced the ban on July 10 to replace a temporary one issued last year after a group of watchdog organizations demanded a reexamination of the environmental and social impact assessments of dredging in the province, ministry spokesperson Meng Saktheara told RFA’s Khmer Service on Tuesday. “Large-scale sand export businesses were previously granted licenses in [Koh Kong province] … so the ministry decided to permanently place a ban on such sand exports to end the practice,” he said. Meng Saktheara confirmed that the new ban only covers sand for construction and sand mud export businesses in Koh Kong province. Any company in possession of a business license for exporting the two types of sand must immediately terminate its activities, he added.
Meanwhile, any company licensed to mine silica, used for making glass, may continue to do so, Meng Saktheara said, as this kind of sand “falls under a separate provision from sand for construction and sand mud.” The Ministry of Mines and Energy banned sand exports in November 2016 amid public outrage over large inconsistencies between Cambodia’s recorded sand exports and Singapore’s recorded sand imports from Cambodia, but had recently said that silica sand was not part of the ban.
