It sounds like the main issue in that article is local shortages. It doesn’t say anything about global supply (e.g., how long would it take to deplete the Sahara, and would that be considered land reclamation?)
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-desert-sand-not-used-for-constr...
For particular demanding applications all sand is sifted and structure/shape of the sand checked.
For evening more demanding application sand may be produced via crushing to get long flat sand grains.
Also the checking of the quality of sand is called sieve analysis.