Amid the constant roar of machinery and steelwork, patriotism is expressed through sweat, responsibility and the determination to help build a Phu Quoc ready to host the 2027 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The island will host APEC 2027 in November, making it the third Vietnamese venue for the forum after Hanoi in 2006 and Da Nang in 2017.

A special flag-raising ceremony 

Early one morning, as the country entered the five-day National Day holiday from August 29 to September 2, machinery and work-related activity at construction sites for APEC 2027 on Phu Quoc temporarily came to a halt.

Dressed in their work clothes and wearing hard hats, engineers and workers stood solemnly facing the Vietnamese national flag and sang the national anthem, “Tien Quan Ca.”

In front of them was not a stage, but buildings, steel structures and other facilities being rapidly completed.

The site of the flag-raising ceremony in celebration of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2) was also the workplace where tens of thousands of people work every day to prepare infrastructure for APEC 2027.

Standing amid the structures they are helping to build, each worker could see both the work that remains ahead and the day when Phu Quoc welcomes leaders of the 21 APEC economies.

The pride felt during the special ceremony was therefore closely tied to the responsibility of completing each project on schedule while ensuring quality and safety.

Among those attending the ceremony was Nguyen Dac Thao, a technical supervisor at the APEC Convention Center.

After more than 40 years in the construction industry, Thao has attended many flag-raising ceremonies, but this was the first time he had celebrated National Day at a project of such scale and significance.

Watching the facilities take shape day by day, the engineer could not hide his emotion.

“This is the largest and most complex project of my career. Seeing the project change every day, I feel very proud that Vietnamese people are now capable of building world-class facilities,” Thao said.

While Thao viewed the ceremony through the perspective of more than four decades in the industry, safety supervisor Le Hoang Minh experienced the moment with the enthusiasm of a younger generation.

For Minh, singing the national anthem at the construction site he is helping to build was an experience unlikely to be repeated in his career.

As a safety supervisor at the Multipurpose Theater, Minh regularly moves around construction areas to inspect working conditions, monitor activities and remind work teams to strictly follow safety procedures.

As the workload increases, safety requirements have become even stricter.

Minh said working every day at the massive APEC construction site was his way of contributing his youth, dedication and service to the country.

As soon as the national anthem ended, the engineers and workers quickly returned to their positions.

High above the APEC Convention Center and Multipurpose Theater, the sounds of machinery, steel and construction commands soon filled the sites again.

Keeping APEC 2027 projects moving through the holiday

During her lunch break, Luong Thi Bich, a female worker at the construction site of Terminal 2 at Phu Quoc International Airport, called home to check on her daughter.

This year’s National Day holiday, she registered to stay at the construction site and work through the holiday.

“I miss my children, but I have to work hard to save some money for their future,” Bich said.

“I used to raise livestock, but my income was unstable. Later, I followed my husband into construction work at Terminal 2. My current job gives me a much higher and more stable income.”

During the call, she held up her phone so her daughter could see airplanes taking off one after another.

Bich hopes that one National Day in the not-too-distant future, she and her family will return to the place where she once helped build the airport, not to start a work shift, but as passengers beginning a vacation on Phu Quoc Island.

The same sense of urgency can be seen at the construction site of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line.

Newly delivered rails are being moved into position for installation one after another.

Le Quy Cong, a rail installation worker, was assigned to Phu Quoc from Hanoi to take part in this important phase of construction.

Drawing on 36 years of experience in the industry, Cong and his colleagues are learning new technology through a structured technology transfer process.

Workers receive detailed training and guidance from suppliers and experts before deployment.

Installation and alignment are carried out according to approved procedures, under the supervision of consultants, with each stage inspected and accepted before proceeding.

This approach ensures technical and safety requirements are met while keeping pace with the demanding construction schedule.

At the Bai Dat Do hotel complex, cleaning worker Tran Thi Ruong and her husband both registered to work through the September 2 holiday.

Every day, Ruong collects leftover materials and clears construction areas before handing them over to the next construction teams.

“We stay committed to the work not only for the income, but also because of the happiness of knowing that our small contributions are helping create a meaningful project,” Ruong said.

According to Nguyen Van Tuan, head of the Bai Dat Do Hotel Complex Project Management Board, workers who register to work during the September 2 holiday do so voluntarily, in line with the requirements of their respective positions and construction plans.

Engineers and workers who work on the holiday are paid overtime in accordance with regulations and are also given compensatory time off to ensure their health.

Work shifts are arranged according to the nature of the jobs, actual conditions and safety requirements at the construction site.

“The project provides regular accommodation spaces with around 3,000 spots, along with healthcare services and essential amenities, so workers can maintain stable living conditions and work with peace of mind at the construction site,” Tuan said.

Work continues through the holiday at infrastructure, transport and aviation projects under construction across Phu Quoc.

Nguyen Tien Hop, executive director of Sun Group’s PPP projects in Phu Quoc, said six projects serving APEC 2027 have simultaneously entered their peak construction phase.

Around 15,500 engineers and workers have registered to work through this year’s National Day holiday to keep the projects on schedule, he said.

In addition to wages and time off, efforts are also being made to support workers’ well-being.

During holidays, representatives of project management boards visit camps and construction sites to meet and encourage workers.

Those visits provide encouragement to those celebrating the holiday away from home and give them additional motivation to keep working.

According to Hop, the APEC 2027 projects have received close direction from leaders of An Giang Province and the Phu Quoc Special Administrative Zone, particularly regarding site clearance.

Local leaders regularly inspect the construction sites and encourage officials, engineers and workers.