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$540 million museum project raises experts’ concerns

September 19, 2012 By

The Ministry of Construction has recently requested that the Ministry of Planning and Investment assess the proposed construction of a National Historical Museum in Hanoi this November.

The US0 million National Historical Museum's design Photo: Tuoi Tre
The US0 million National Historical Museum’s design Photo: Tuoi Tre

Under the plan, the 10-hectare museum, costing VND11.27 trillion (US$540 million) will include four main venues: the main building, a notable memorial area, an outdoor exhibition area and a campus. It is also planned to be built at the new Tay Ho Tay urban area in Tu Liem District.

The construction will be finished in May 2016 and the museum will be put into operation from July of that year.

Also, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism will be in charge of the objects which will be displayed inside.

However, the plan has raised concern from some experts, who say the project is not alogical decision. Even an appointed member of the scientific consulting board of the projected National Historical Museum, Nguyen Van Huy, former director of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology expressed his worry on how to run the museum.

“The VND2 trillion Hanoi Museum, built two years ago to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi, has taught us a lesson. The museum is considered too big compared to the small number of objects displayed inside. Now, the proposed national museum is five times bigger than that; how can we run it well?” he said.

museum

The VND2 trillion Hanoi Museum. Photo: Tuoi Tre

“Before constructing a real museum, people need to calculate human resources and the amount of objects to be displayed, as well as strategies to attract visitors. But I haven’t seen anyone do that. They just care about constructing the building and buying antiques to display,” he added.

Nguyen Quoc Thong, vice president of the Vietnam Architecture Association, also said that it’s not reasonable to start construction on the museum when there are not yet enough objects to be displayed.

“If there are things to be changed in this project, they are the museum’s furnishings and what people are going to put into the museum,” he stated.

After two years of operation, the approximately US$100 million Hanoi Museum is raising eyebrows, as it has failed to attract a large number of visitors.Experts working at the museum also admit that the museum is only attractive in its appearance, not what it includes inside, while visitors complain about the small amount of objects displayed in the museum.Though the building was put into operation in October 2010, it was not allowed to show objects until September 2011. According to Nguyen Van Hung, director of the museum, it will take at least two more years to fill the Hanoi Museum completely.

Source from: tuoitrenews.vn
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