Singapore’s industrial landlord JTC Corp has pledged to take action if there is evidence that its sand importers have breached their contract.
The government agency – which oversees Singapore’s land reclamation activities – told The Straits Times yesterday that it has “consistently monitored the sand imports” and “will take action and investigate [sand suppliers] if there is evidence to show any breach in contract”.
It also said that “to date, [its] sand vendors have all been able to provide valid documented evidences of clearance from the source countries”.
JTC was responding to queries from The Straits Times on a recent report by environmental group Global Witness which alleged that Singapore was importing Cambodian sand illegally and without regard for the environment.
The report claimed that Cambodia’s sand trade is thriving despite a recent sand export ban, and at least one Singapore-registered company was named in the report as working with Cambodian dredgers to supply sand to JTC for its land reclamation activities.
The Singapore Government had rejected the report, which was launched early last month.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) said then that it does not condone the illegal export or smuggling of sand, or any extraction of sand that is in breach of the source countries’ laws and rules on environmental protection.
It said in a recent statement to The Straits Times that the Government has “in place a series of measures to monitor the source of our sand imports”. Before awarding contracts, JTC would require the supplier show documentary proof that its sand is from an approved sand concession holder.
“In the case of Cambodia, this includes the official licence document from Cambodia. The licence document stipulates the environmental and other conditions that should be observed in the sand mining activity”, it said.
The London-based Global Witness report had alleged that despite imposing a ban on the export of sea sand, the Cambodian government’s actions “appear to have facilitated, rather than limited, dredging operations”.
These activities have led to the degradation of ecosystems. Fish and crab harvests have also fallen, threatening the livelihood of local communities, it said.
It estimates the annual value of the sand trade at US$28.7 million (S$40 million) in Cambodia and US$248 million in retail value in Singapore. In 2008, the Republic was the largest global importer of sand at 14.2 million tonnes valued at US$273 million.
The Cambodian Government spokeperson Khieu Kanharith also rejected the report in a recent statement.
He said Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen had banned sand exports last year, including a ban on “sand-dredging near islands and eco-tourism areas, deep water regions and in zones with large numbers of fish stock”. However, “a small amount of dredging was permitted to serve local demand and allow the passage of ships through over-silted areas”, he added.
When contacted, Global Witness said it welcomed the Singapore Government’s statement and “hopes that it signifies the beginning of an open and constructive dialogue”.
But it added that the Government’s response “does not yet answer the main findings of our report”, and added that Cambodia’s regulatory frameworks are “woefully inadequate in defending Cambodia’s
environment against the effects of a sand trade”.
MND yesterday reiterated the strong controls in place regulating sand imports.
Contracts issued by the JTC stipulate that sand vendors have to act responsibly, and it sends out “firm reminders” to them to observe source country regulations, it said.
JTC requires sand vendors to give a statutory declaration that they are acting responsibly. It also requires that they provide various documents and licences from source countries.
