Despite significant investment, why is the Hanoi Museum still unfinished?

At the Hanoi City People's Council's explanatory session on April 25th regarding the investment, exploitation, management, and use of cultural and sports facilities, many council members requested the Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports to explain the reasons, responsibilities, and completion time of the Hanoi Museum project - one of the city's key cultural projects.

Accordingly, phase 1 of the project, including the museum building, was completed in 2010 in time to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi. However, phase 2 of the project - the exhibition of artifacts - was expected to be completed in 2015 but remains unfinished to this day.

According to Mr. Do Dinh Hong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, the Hanoi Museum project was inaugurated in 2010, marking the start of the design phase. This stage is very time-consuming and depends in part on input from scientists, cultural and historical experts, and various levels of management.

In 2009, Hanoi approved the museum's exhibition design outline, but at that time the entire collection of artifacts was not yet complete. It wasn't until 2020 that the Hanoi People's Committee re-approved the museum's design outline. Over the years, the investor has also changed, from the Department of Construction, the Department of Culture and Sports, and now the Hanoi Museum.

Mr. Do Dinh Hong added that when approaching this project, they reviewed the project and found the workload to be very large, involving many sectors and levels. Besides the artifacts already collected from Hanoi, the equipment and technology for displaying these artifacts are crucial, requiring consultation from experts from New Zealand, Japan, and France. Currently, 65% of the design and construction has been completed.

Furthermore, Mr. Do Dinh Hong also acknowledged that part of the reason lies with the investor of the Hanoi Museum and the Department of Culture and Sports. The Department has reported to the City People's Committee to establish an inter-agency working group to support the Museum Project Management Board with the participation of the Department of Finance, the Department of Construction, the Department of Planning and Investment, etc.

It is expected that in May 2022, the Department of Construction will review the technical design and report to the City People's Committee for re-approval of related contents. The finalized construction design will be submitted by the end of August 2022, and construction can begin by the end of September.

The head of the Department of Culture and Sports affirmed that the project will be completed by mid-2024 to report to the city, and also committed to taking responsibility if the Hanoi Museum project falls behind schedule as mentioned above.

Additional information

The Hanoi Museum, located on Pham Hung Street (Me Tri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi), was inaugurated and put into operation on October 6, 2010 - coinciding with the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi.

The building has 6 floors, including 4 above-ground floors and 2 basement floors, and is constructed on a total area of ​​approximately 54,000 m².²The building has an inverted tower architecture, and the spaces on the upper floors are designed to be open, facilitating interior construction and the arrangement of visitor routes.

The Hanoi Museum currently houses over 70,000 documents and artifacts (as of June 2021) made of various materials, serving as a testament to the thousand-year history of Thang Long - Hanoi. To date, 12 years after its inauguration, the Hanoi Museum's interior exhibition is still incomplete and not ready to welcome visitors.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Compiled by Phuong Thao (Photo: Internet)