Agricultural and fishing tools related to the process of reclamation and establishment of villages by farmers in Vĩnh Long Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Thúy Hằng

HÀ NỘI — A plan to construct a museum specialised in the agriculture of the Mekong Delta has been approved by the People’s Committee of the southern province of Vĩnh Long.

The plan will then be submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism before being considered and decided on by the Prime Minister.

According to the chairman of the People's Committee of Vĩnh Long Province, Lữ Quang Ngời, the construction of the museum is a community-oriented project that aims to honour the achievements of regional agriculture and the contribution of the farmers to the economic and social development of the nation.

“The exploitation to promote the value of the museum is an important issue that has been studied to achieve the highest efficiency by the province,” he affirmed.

 “The province has launched the project with the consultation of Cần Thơ University and initially collected over 1,000 artefacts and documents on agricultural implements,” said Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vĩnh Long Province Phan Văn Giàu.

“Seminars and conferences have also been regularly held to collect consultation from related organisations and other provinces in the region; thereby, the representatives of the provinces agree on the contribution, collection and display of the objects representing local characteristics at the museum with an aim to promote the value of agricultural heritages and connect tourism development in the region,” Giàu added.

Covering a total area of around 11 hectares at Rạch Trúc Hamlet, Vũng Liên Town, Vũng Liên District, the museum will exhibit the artefacts and documents arranged according to four periods: agriculture under the Kingdom of Funan and Chenla before 1698; the Nguyễn Lords and Nguyễn Dynasty period (1698-1858); the French colonial period and that of the Republic of Việt Nam (1858-1975); and in the Mekong Delta during the period from 1975 to present with đổi mới (economic reform).

According to the director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vĩnh Long province, the project is expected to cost VNĐ400 billion (US$17 million) from the State budget and socialisation resources, divided into several stages of implementation.

Work on the museum is set to begin in 2022 and expected to last five years. — VNS