Plan For US$66m Ho Chi Minh Statue In Son La Sparks Debate

Son La’s proposal to build a massive VND1,400 billion (US$66 million) Ho Chi Minh statue has put provincial authorities in the spotlight and caught the gaze of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who has requested an explanation for the high cost.

According to VN Express, the statue’s purpose is “…to show affection and gratitude of the people to the beloved Ho Chi Minh.” Son La officials also said that this is a monument of multiple “...values, including culture, education, history, tradition and humanity, serving not only the current generation, but also those of the future.”

The statue will give the impoverished province “...an opportunity to promote tourism with its history,” said Son La’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism in a statement.

If approved, the project will occupy 20 hectares and feature a statue, square, Ho Chi Minh temple, sacrificed veterans monument, museum, city hall and infrastructure system. The province hopes to start construction in October and complete the complex by 2019.

The exact cost is still being determined, said Cam Ngoc Minh, Head of Son La People's Committee. “It is upsetting and untrue that the statue only is said to cost VND1,400 billion…[it] is only an estimate,” he told the news website, adding that the project is part of a larger government approved plan to build 14 such statues across the country.

As news of the project hit social media, a number of Facebook users voiced their displeasure with the statue’s cost with images and infographics.

Son La Province is home to 12 ethnic minorities, many of whom live in a poor economic state. The province’s per capita GDP is VND22 million per year, nearly half of the national average.