Hanoi to spend $61 mln building new cemetery for high-ranking officials

By Vo Hai   February 1, 2018 | 07:33 pm PT
Hanoi to spend $61 mln building new cemetery for high-ranking officials
An artist impression shows the design for Hanoi's new cemetery of high-rank officials.
Space has run out at the official cemetery where the likes of revolutionary leaders Le Duan and Ton Duc Thang are buried.

Hanoi has announced plans to build a new cemetery for high-ranking officials at a cost of VND1.4 trillion (more than $61.6 million).

The Yen Trung Cemetery, approved by the prime minister, will span 120 hectares (300 acres) in Thach That District at the foot of Ba Vi Mountain around 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the west of the city center, officials said on Thursday.

It will serve as the last resting place for around 2,500 high-ranking Communist Party and government officials, as well as people of note and national heroes.

The state-funded project is expected to take around three years to complete, and will include relocating 105 families.

Officials said Hanoi will cooperate with the construction ministry to finish the project promptly, although a starting date for construction has yet to be announced.

High-ranking officials have been buried at Mai Dich Cemetery in the capital's Cau Giay District since 1982. It is the final resting place for more than 1,200 war martyrs and around 400 leaders, including Le Duan, the country’s Party chief during the Vietnam War, Ton Duc Thang, the first president of the reunified Vietnam, and his Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.

Famed authors Nguyen Dinh Thi and Huy Can are also buried at the 5.9-hectare cemetery, which has run out of space.

 
 
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