The paradox of $500 million scheme for culture VietNamNet Bridge - Overcrowding in hospitals, classroom shortages persist in many areas, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The country needs millions or billions of US dollars to build these facilities.  The idea of building the biggest National Museum of History in Vietnam of the Ministry of Construction was questioned. And despite this; a new project by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism targets to build dozens of cultural works, with the estimated cost of more than VND10 trillion ($500 million) while a lot of cultural houses across the country have not been used fully.      Under the scheme of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the total investment in the project to upgrade and build cultural works in the period of 2012 - 2020 is expected to be VND10,800 billion, of which VND6,500 billion will come from the state budget (60.2%) and VND4,300 billion (39.8%) will be mobilized from other resources. The paradox  The goal of this huge project is "completing the system of cultural works to meet the needs of the cultural and spiritual life of the people, especially the remote areas where have difficult economic conditions." Accordingly, the ministry will “step-by-step invest in upgrading and building new cultural works of high quality, modern, up to regional level." Mr. Phan Dinh Tan, the spokesman for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that, not just mere entertainment, the construction of cultural works will create "pushing" and the contribution to social and economic development. Mr. Tan said it is the need to build these works because Vietnam still lacks outstanding works to serve the need of cultural and spiritual enjoyment. According to some experts, it is good to "refresh" and build cultural works. However, in the current difficult conditions, the ministry must have to know its own strength. Who will benefit? Not mentioning investment from the state budget, calling for investment from other sources in this project is not really easy. As an economist has said, that the return on investment rate for the arts is not really attractive so it is difficult to convene businesses to contribute capital to these works.  Meanwhile, the existing works are not well managed and used. For example, the National Cinema Center, located in a very nice place in Hanoi, now has its first floor leased to an electronics supermarket.  While some art troupes do not have stages for performance, the Hanoi Friendship Cultural Palace is leased to organizations weddings or coffee shops. Examples of waste Hanoi Museum. Earlier, the Ministry of Construction launched the idea of building the Museum of National History in Vietnam in the West Lake new urban area, in Tu Liem district, Hanoi, with a total funding of up to VND11,277 billion. The idea was immediately protested by the public. They said that the Ministry of Construction would repeat the mistake of the Hanoi Museum, which was built to celebrate Hanoi’s 1000th anniversary. The Hanoi Museum, with total investment of VND2,300 billion, is called the “typical example of waste.” The museum is not fully exploited and in a short period of time after it opened, a number of works showed signs of deterioration. A recent inspection showed that total economic violation in Hanoi Museum is VND12.5 billion.   Compiled by Mai Lan