In the middle of the night in Phu Quoc special zone (An Giang), a strip of light over 3 km long suddenly burst out on the large construction site that had been messy with machinery for many months. Clusters of air traffic lights on runway No. 2 were activated one after another, stretching into a "light strip" through the darkness, creating an emotional effect.
That is the final adjustment stage before the standard flight scheduled to be carried out on July 27, the time to decide whether the entire system of traffic lights, signs and navigation equipment just installed will operate accurately or not.
Runway No. 2 is 3,300 m long, 45 m wide, meeting the standards to regularly receive wide-body aircraft such as Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Boeing 777. The project was completed after about 8 months: 6 months of construction of structure, concrete road surface and 2 months of installation, connection, and adjustment of aviation equipment.
Oversized and overweight machinery and specialized materials must be transported by sea, while heavy rain and thunderstorms continuously put pressure on progress. To compensate, the investor, Project Management Board and contractors have mobilized maximum manpower, machinery, and organized the construction site to operate continuously in 3 shifts, 4 crews, but still have to ensure aviation security and safety and maintain smooth operation of existing operations.
In the initial phase, about 1,500 air traffic lights and nearly 400 traffic signs were installed, forming a continuous guidance network throughout the airfield area. The CAT II traffic light system uses new generation LED technology, with a designed lifespan of about 50,000 hours, helping to maintain stable brightness and reduce maintenance frequency.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ba Quan, Director of Phu Quoc International Airport (Sun Group Joint Stock Company), runway No. 2 is a link in the overall synchronously planned infrastructure, including taxiways, aprons, passenger terminal T2, VIP terminal, VIP apron, navigation system, security, rescue, access traffic and auxiliary works.
According to him, the unit has developed a synchronous operation plan between runway No. 2 and the existing taxiway system, parking lot, T2 terminal, VIP terminal and VIP parking lot, ensuring safe and smooth reception of wide-body aircraft such as Boeing 787, Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Code F aircraft when needed - meeting regular operations and private jet flights within the APEC 2027 framework.
According to the expected plan, Phu Quoc airport will have two international standard runways, Terminal T2 and synchronously invested aviation infrastructure. In the long term, the capacity is oriented to be increased to 50 million passengers/year.
The airport will be the gateway to serve APEC 2027 High-Level Week, welcoming leaders and delegations from 21 member economies and thousands of international delegates. The runway system, terminals, parking lots and modern navigation equipment are also expected to attract direct flights with wide-body aircraft from the Middle East, Northeast Asia, South Asia and Europe, making Phu Quoc an aviation, tourism and international trade gateway of the region.
