Vietnamese business's mark after the world's largest steel dome project

Lightning-fast construction

As soon as it was completed by a series of Vietnamese enterprises, the national exhibition center not only impressed with its largest scale in Southeast Asia and was in the top 10 in the world , but also with many miracles such as: "lightning-fast" completion time of only 10.5 months; Kim Quy Dome marked a world record with 24,000 tons of steel, error in millimeters and construction time of only 5 months.

With an area of over 90 hectares, this is also one of the largest exhibition centers in the world, expected to become an international destination for commercial and cultural events of the whole country. The main building includes 9 subdivisions with a total floor area of over 130,000 m², bearing the image of the Golden Turtle God, a historical and cultural symbol, representing the eternal spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Notably, to accomplish this extraordinary feat, Vingroup , as the "coordination center" of a giant machine consisting of Vietnamese enterprises such as ATAD, QH Plus or Dai Dung, has become a specialized "arm", coordinating smoothly, creating lightning-fast power.

In fact, QH Plus, ATAD or Dai Dung are not unfamiliar names in Vietnam, even in the world. QH Plus once made a splash when it was in charge of the entire steel structure for Landmark 81 - the tallest tower in Vietnam, and also participated in the VinFast Factory project and many Vinhomes projects.

ATAD has also completed more than 4,000 steel structure projects in more than 60 countries, implementing more than 30,000 tons of steel structures at the VinFast Hai Phong project. Meanwhile, Dai Dung was the steel structure contractor for 2 stadiums at the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.

The 24,000-ton steel dome system of Kim Quy Exhibition Hall impressed many visitors.

To build the largest steel arch on the planet at Kim Quy Exhibition Hall, ATAD was assigned 2 out of 9 halls, accounting for 20% of the total steel volume of the project. ATAD immediately mobilized 8 factories to produce large-sized steel pipes for the project. With 112 days of construction, on April 25, 2025, ATAD was the first steel structure unit to complete, opening the way for the project's rapid progress milestones.

Sharing this journey, Mr. Do Duc Trung - Sales Director of ATAD Steel Structure Company - recounted that on September 2, 2024, he received a call from Vingroup informing him about participating in the Kim Quy exhibition house steel dome project. Immediately after that, he began mobilizing all personnel for the construction plan. According to normal calculations, with a volume of about 24,000 tons of steel, the completion time can last 1.5 - 2 years. However, the requirement from the investor Vingroup is to complete within 10 months.

“ The entire project took 10 months. The actual construction time for the steel dome was only about 5 months, because the foundation had to be completed before installation. The steel dome also had to be completed before April 25, 2025, so that the roof and other items could be installed. That was a terrible schedule ,” Mr. Trung recalled.

According to strict requirements from the investor, a monitoring team was sent to each factory to control the quality of each component.

“ The modules produced by this factory must match the next module of another factory. The steel pipes have very large apertures, but when they are joined together, the allowable error is only in millimeters, and there is no time for even the smallest error. It must be “done right away”, with no chance to redo it ,” Mr. Trung explained.

Also working with ATAD are QH Plus and Dai Dung. QH Plus is in charge of constructing 3 halls, with a total steel volume equivalent to ATAD.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Huan, General Director of QH Plus Steel Structure Joint Stock Company, said that at that time, the company was implementing nearly 20 projects both domestically and internationally, but still mobilized 500 production personnel to focus on processing steel pipes at the factory. Along with that, there were 150 officers and engineers on duty at the construction site, because this was determined to be the "number 1 priority".

With the characteristics of high-altitude construction, the highest position is up to 56m, the large crane system from 350 - 500 tons is mobilized to the maximum. The end of the year is the peak construction season in the country, but thanks to the long-standing supplier network, the contractors have gathered almost all the forces from the North to Co Loa.

At its peak, the National Exhibition Center project had up to 3,000 workers and engineers working. Hundreds of contractors were mobilized. The number of machines reached thousands. Thanks to that, the project was completed on schedule, after only 10 months. Meanwhile, the world record for projects of similar scale is 36 months.

For Dai Dung, this is not the first time the group has faced a speed race. In 2017, in Qatar, the Lusail stadium project - where the 2022 World Cup final will take place - encountered an incident, the Turkish contractor could not complete the components. Dai Dung was called in at the "89th minute", having to pass a series of rounds of factory appraisal, production plan, and construction capacity. Mr. Trinh Tien Dung - Chairman and General Director of Dai Dung - said that the company received an invitation to participate in the dome with a requirement of only 5 months for construction.

Mr. Dung said that right from the design stage, the steel dome was considered a “super difficult” problem. Not only because of its enormous size in both diameter and height, but also because of the three architectural changes during the construction process, forcing the engineering team to constantly adjust the structural plan.

The time to finalize the final solution was only 1.5 months, while with similar projects, the structural design phase alone can take nearly 1 year.

The overall plan was immediately deployed by Dai Dung with more than 1,000 workers and engineers divided into 3 shifts, working 24/7. At the construction site, the 500-ton super-heavy crane continuously lifted and lowered. More than 100,000 steel ball joints and high-strength screws were fitted together one by one, under the supervision of 3D laser scanning technology. Notably, all steel was produced in Vietnam.

On rainy days, workers still drill and weld under wet tarps. On windy days, the crane installation has to be halted, but technical teams still hold urgent meetings on site to adjust the progress.

“ Hundreds of Dai Dung engineers work day and night in design rooms, simulating structures with advanced 3D software, continuously calculating load-bearing options, deflections, and responses to storms and earthquakes. They all understand that they are making a part of history ,” Mr. Dung recounted.

Vingroup - the talented conductor

To achieve the lightning-fast construction progress and miraculous results beyond expectations, in addition to the efforts of leading steel structure enterprises in Southeast Asia, we must also mention Vingroup Corporation - the unit that plays the role of a "conductor" with determination, science and close attention, has brought the project to the finish line on schedule, after only 10 months. Meanwhile, the world record for projects of similar scale is 36 months.

Vingroup as commander in chief has made a great miracle.

Sharing about this "conductor", Mr. Do Duc Trung commented that it is rare to find an investor who is both decisive and meticulous like this. Every plan from design to construction is planned in detail, reported twice a day to control each progress milestone. If there is rain or wind, they immediately adjust the plan on the spot, not wasting even a minute.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Huan, General Director of QH Plus Steel Structure Joint Stock Company, was impressed with Vingroup's "one-touch" working process: as soon as a problem arises, a solution will come immediately - fast, neat and effective.

“ This is an advantage that few investors or general contractors have. The 'Co Loa Miracle' bears the great mark of Vingroup ,” Mr. Huan concluded.

According to Mr. Huan, being chosen by Vingroup to construct large-scale projects such as the Vietnam Exhibition Center, or previously Landmark 81, VinFast Factory, is an opportunity for his company in particular and domestic enterprises in general to demonstrate their organizational, management and technological capabilities.

" Thanks to that, we can confidently step out into the world and carry out more complex and demanding projects, " revealed the General Director of QH Plus Steel Structure Joint Stock Company.

At the Vietnam Private Sector Forum 2025 (VPSF 2025) held on September 16, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared his great satisfaction and emotion when visiting this steel dome designed by Vietnamese people, produced by Vietnamese people and constructed by Vietnamese people at lightning speed.
" A project like this was expected to be completed in two years, which was already fast, then shortened to a year and a half and then required to be completed in 10 months so we can have a product to enjoy in the past few days, which is very fast ," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Ngoc Thien

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/dau-an-doanh-nghiep-viet-sau-du-an-mai-vom-thep-quy-mo-lon-nhat-the-gioi-ar966977.html