From early morning until late at night, workers and machinery operate continuously in extra shifts, focusing all resources on the “sprint” phase with the goal of completing the works on schedule to serve the new school year.

The province is currently implementing 15 inter-level boarding school projects in border communes. Among them, one project has essentially completed its components; nine projects that commenced in 2025 are being accelerated with the aim of completion before August 30, 2026; and five projects that started in 2026 are urgently finalizing investment procedures.

Currently, the nine projects started in 2025 have entered the “sprint” stage, determined to reach the finish line as planned. With only about four months of construction time remaining and the peak of the 2026 rainy season just over a month away, contractors and construction units are concentrating maximum manpower and equipment to take advantage of the “golden time” of the dry season to speed up progress.

At many sites, the construction atmosphere is urgent and vibrant. From early morning, workers are fully present and immediately get to work. The sounds of concrete mixers, steel cutting, and material transport vehicles indicate that the entire site is in a high-speed gear.

The inter-level boarding school project in Thanh Nưa commune has a total investment of VND 224.4 billion, including main items such as the administrative building, classrooms, student dormitories, a dining hall and kitchen, a multi-purpose house, and a library. To date, construction progress has reached approximately 57% of the volume, ensuring the set plan.

At the site, the urgent spirit of the worker teams is palpable. In the main classroom block, each team handles a specific task, from installing electrical systems and plastering walls to tiling floors and constructing the campus and playground. The dormitory, dining area, and sanitation blocks are also being rushed through the final stages of the rough structure. Bùi Đức Thuân, the Project Manager from No.6 Construction and Trade LLC, stated that the rough parts of the classrooms and dormitories are basically finished. The focus is now on infrastructure such as internal roads and drainage to be completed during the dry season, allowing teams to move indoors once the rainy season begins to ensure overall project progress.

To maintain this pace, the contractor has mobilized maximum manpower, maintaining around 400 laborers with a regular need for over 500. Besides optimizing construction, the enterprise is attracting local labor through policies such as increasing wages for efficient teams and coordinating with local village heads and organizations to encourage residents to join the workforce. Workers are also provided with monthly salary advances to ensure they can commit to the project long-term.

A similar race against time is happening at the Mường Nhà commune project, which has a total investment of VND 200 billion. Currently, all items are being constructed simultaneously, focusing on site leveling, foundation treatment, and the main building structure. The overall progress has reached about 44%. Nguyễn Xuân Quang, the site manager from Tuấn Thành LLC, noted that as of April 28, the rough structure of the entire project had exceeded 65%. The unit strives to complete 100% of the rough structure before the peak of the rainy season.

The recent spike in fuel prices, which led to higher transport costs and increased prices for materials like sand, stone, cement, and steel, has directly pressured contractors. To adapt, many businesses have proactively signed long-term contracts with suppliers. At the Nà Bủng commune project, Trịnh Văn Tý from Minh Khôi Investment and Development LLC mentioned that materials like bricks, sand, and gravel are being stockpiled, while steel is ordered directly from factories to avoid supply chain disruptions. Despite these difficulties, the site maintains a schedule of three shifts and four crews, having completed nearly 40% of the workload.

Because these are educational facilities, technical standards are held to the highest level. Despite the pressure of the deadline, investors maintain regular inspections to ensure quality down to the smallest detail. Nguyễn Xuân Thuận, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, emphasized that supervision is continuous across all items, from material quality to labor safety. Any errors are corrected immediately, and contractors have committed to following the design strictly to ensure durability, aesthetics, and functionality.

To guarantee both progress and quality, provincial and departmental delegations frequently visit the sites to resolve bottlenecks. During recent progress inspections at the nine border communes, Lê Thành Đô, Deputy Standing Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council, requested that contractors focus all resources and define a weekly “critical path” to accelerate construction. Local authorities have been urged to speed up land clearance and finalize legal documents to ensure all projects are completed before August 30.

With the synchronized involvement of all levels and sectors, these boarding school projects are nearing the finish line. Once they are put into use for the 2026 - 2027 school year, these new facilities will provide a better learning foundation for highland students, helping to improve the quality of human resources and opening opportunities for sustainable local development.