Authorities in Indonesia's Riau Islands province have stopped the operations of six sand mining companies exporting to Singapore as it is feared the mining will destroy the environment on nearby islands, a newspaper reported Friday.

The decision to stop the operations, as of Aug. 14, was taken after hearing that Sebaik Island in Moro district was sinking due to excessive sand mining by PT Surya Cipta Rezeki, one of the six sand mining companies in Karimun regency, located some 20 km from Singapore.

"Due to environmental destruction and news about the sinking island, the Karimun administration has ordered the six companies to stop operations," Deputy Karimun regent Aunur Rofiq was quoted as saying.

Aunur acknowledged that Karimun regency relied heavily on sand exports, which brought in annual revenue of 3 billion rupiah (315, 789 U.S. dollars).

Aunur also admitted that the sand mining licenses for the six companies were only issued last year, but the regency had not looked into their reclamation activities.

Source: Xinhua