The Andhra Pradesh government's decision to do away with the bidding mode for awarding sand reaches has come as a great relief for the construction sector, which since April this year has been reeling under the twin problems of supply shortages and abnormal price.

The authorities have now fixed a rate of Rs 325 per cubic metre inclusive of government cess that comes to about Rs 195 per tonne onsite, besides fixing an end user price for sand after adding the transportation costs.