Test runs on Vietnam's 17.6 km Phú Quốc light metro will start in July 2027, with line completion scheduled for before the APEC summit held in Phú Quốc in November 2027, concessionaire Sun Group confirmed on September 28.

The status update came as Sun Group reported that track works on the island line are progressing despite recent heavy rainfall. The light metro will connect Phú Quốc International Airport with the APEC Conference Centre on the island off Vietnam's southern coast.

Where does the alignment run?

The light metro runs mostly at grade, following the ĐT.975 highway. Of the 17.6 km route, 1.3 km is on elevated viaduct and 2 km is in tunnel. The line will carry passengers end-to-end between the airport and the conference centre in 20 minutes, with a planned peak capacity of 4,500 passengers per hour per direction.

Who is delivering the project?

The developer, owner and concessionaire is Sun Group, a Vietnamese real-estate company. Sun Group is building and operating the line under a build-operate-transfer public-private partnership concession that runs for up to 40 years from handover. At the end of the concession the asset reverts to public ownership.

Rolling stock comes from CRRC Dalian of China. The supplier is providing 14 three-car light rail vehicles under a January 2026 contract. The order covers the full operational fleet required for the 4,500 passenger/hour/direction service.

Sun Group has not yet published delivery dates for the Dalian-built cars, nor the timetable for vehicle acceptance, commissioning, or transfer to the Phú Quốc depot.

How is the operations package shaping up?

In August, Sun Group signed an agreement with HURC1, the operator of Ho Chi Minh City's metro network. The deal covers three workstreams: technical support in operations and maintenance, staff training, and testing.

Sun Group opened recruitment for 168 operational personnel on September 4. The headcount covers the operational core needed to staff trains, stations, and the control centre once test running begins.

What is the schedule?

Key milestones cited by Sun Group:

• Track works: continuing through heavy rain as of September 28, 2026
• O&M technical support deal with HURC1: signed August 2026
• 168-post recruitment drive: opened September 4, 2026
• Test running begins: July 2027
• Line completion: before November 2027 APEC summit in Phú Quốc

The November 2027 APEC summit is a hard political deadline, with the airport line connecting directly to the conference centre that will host the meeting.

What is at stake on the timeline?

Sun Group's status update is a forward-looking statement, not a measured result. The contractor's progress claim needs to be read against a tight sequence of milestones: a July 2027 test-run start, a November 2027 APEC deadline, and a service ramp-up to 4,500 pphpd that depends on the full CRRC Dalian fleet, the HURC1-trained staff, and stable weather through the next monsoon season.

The at-grade sections of the alignment are most exposed to rainfall disruption. The next read on delivery risk will be the timing of the first CRRC Dalian vehicle shipment to Phú Quốc and the first HURC1-trained personnel signed on for the 168 operational posts.