While the country is enjoying the September 2 National Day holiday, construction at key projects in Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang Province, remains busy and urgent, with some sites working through the night to meet deadlines for APEC 2027.
Phu Quoc’s APEC 2027 Convention Center pushes ahead with 24/7 construction
At 12:30 a.m. on August 29, floodlights still illuminated the APEC 2027 Convention Center construction complex in Phu Quoc, An Giang. The entire site was bustling with overnight work. Dozens of concrete mixers and trucks moved in and out, carrying concrete, equipment and prefabricated components. As soon as a concrete mixer stopped, fresh concrete was immediately pumped through pipes to the floors above.
Above, groups of five to seven workers quickly leveled the concrete, with some checking the surface while others measured elevations to ensure each section met the design specifications. Around the main lobby, excavators continuously removed layers of topsoil to make way for underground technical infrastructure. Deeper inside, under powerful electric lights, teams of workers worked tirelessly to plaster and finish box-shaped structures with installed reinforcement steel.
The construction site remained active well past midnight. Dozens of workers and engineers handled different tasks at each location, coordinating smoothly in a continuous workflow.
During a 20-30-minute break, a group of workers gathered for a late-night meal. Opening a meal box he had brought from the afternoon, resident Le Quoc Khanh, 46, from Vinh Long Province, wiped sweat from his forehead and smiled.
“I have been working on the island for more than five months, mainly doing masonry and plastering. For about a month now, most of us have been working night shifts, starting at 6 p.m. Depending on the workload and the construction items, the night shift may end earlier or later. Normally, we work until 4 a.m., but there are periods when construction continues until dawn before we return to our rented rooms. Working at night is more strenuous, but the income and wages are higher,” Khanh said.
The late-night meal quickly ended. As night-shift workers prepared to leave, groups of day-shift workers were already arriving at the site, ready to continue the work.
Cao Duc Huy, a supervisor with the Construction Technology, Equipment Consulting and Inspection JSC (CONINCO), the construction supervision unit for the APEC 2027 Convention Center Project, said the site had more than 3,000 engineers and workers at peak times.
Due to the urgent schedule, construction is taking place around the clock.
“During the September 2 holiday, thousands of workers are still staying at the site. Every handover and coordination between day and night shifts is carried out closely and precisely down to every detail, with no room for mistakes that could affect the overall schedule,” Huy said.
All projects targeted for completion before June 2027
To ensure the progress of projects and works serving APEC 2027, the Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee has asked project owners, investors and contractors to mobilize maximum resources, accelerate construction, ensure quality and complete the projects before June 2027.
They have also been instructed to strengthen self-inspection and internal supervision and regularly review relevant processes, procedures and documents to promptly identify, address and rectify errors and violations arising during implementation.
“That is the workers chanting in unison as they lift the steel rails,” said Do Quoc Hung, head of Construction Team No. 3 under Vinh Phu Railway Company, a contractor for the LRT project.
According to head Do Quoc Hung, moving and securing steel rails onto the sleepers requires workers to coordinate their movements precisely, in addition to using a pulley lifting system, to move and adjust the rails so they align with the sleepers. The workers then secure the rails to the sleepers by tightening bolts. All operations strictly comply with technical requirements to ensure flatness, spacing and safety.
“The project has only a little more than six months of construction time remaining, while Phu Quoc is entering the rainy season. To ensure progress, on sunny days we have to work additional shifts and increase the number of workers to accelerate construction and make up for days of bad weather. Our target is to lay 150 meters of track every day,” Hung said.
Projects race to meet APEC 2027 deadline
Under Prime Minister's Decision No. 948/QD-TTg, 21 projects are being implemented to serve APEC 2027 in Phu Quoc Special Zone, with total investment exceeding VND137 trillion.
Sun Group is responsible for implementing eight projects, including the expansion of Phu Quoc Airport, the APEC Convention Center and the LRT line.
A Sun Group representative said project implementation has faced numerous difficulties due to site clearance, fluctuations in material prices, labor costs and imported equipment. Nevertheless, the projects are proceeding according to plan.
To date, the APEC Convention Center has completed about 98 percent of its reinforced concrete structures and 93 percent of its steel structures. The multipurpose performance hall has completed about 97 percent of its reinforced concrete structure and is accelerating construction of its steel structure to keep pace with the overall schedule.
The two facilities aim to complete their exterior finishes by the end of October 2026 and interiors by the end of March 2027.
At the Phu Quoc International Airport expansion project, Terminal 2 has completed about 95 percent of its concrete structure, while Runway No. 2 is about 85 percent complete. The runway is targeted for completion in 2026 before equipment installation and trial operations ahead of APEC.
Several other infrastructure projects, including DT975 Road, APEC Boulevard, the urban railway line, the An Thoi resettlement area and accommodation facilities serving the conference, are also being implemented simultaneously on multiple construction fronts.
