“We need all of our sand now,” Vice President Dr. Bhrarrat Jagdeo told reporters on Thursday as he sought to discourage the ongoing exportation of Guyanese sand.

Dr. Jagdeo said conflict has arisen with the exportation of sand with the demand on the local market now at its highest.

“But we can’t stop the people who are exporting,” he added.

Jagdeo noted that with the pace of construction locally, the demand for sand is high.

This high demand, he said, has pushed up the prices for the commodity “unreasonably.”

And to confront this, the VP said the government had to intervene and open a large sand pit.

With plans to open several more, Jagdeo hopes this will aid in tempering the price of sand on the local market.

“The prices people getting here now, these prices are out competing what they receive from abroad,” Jagdeo further explained.

Earlier this year, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill acknowledge that there was a rising demand for sand and stone and said that the government has already approached foreign suppliers to help meet the demand.

The ongoing construction boom has significantly increased the demand for building materials, more so the supply of those materials has not equally increased. Shortages in both local and international markets mean that prices for scarce goods are likely to increase.

With the government rolling out a massive housing agenda, coupled with its infrastructural transformation, the shortages of building materials may lead to work delays.