Old buildings dating from 1898 on Bạch Đằng Street in Đà Nẵng will be a new site for the Đà Nẵng Museum. The city will upgrade and decorate the old buildings in September. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city will begin upgrading the old buildings on Bạch Đằng street as a new location for the Đà Nẵng Museum in September at a total cost of VNĐ505 billion (US$22 million).

Director of the city’s sport and culture department, Huỳnh Văn Hùng told Việt Nam News that the buildings on 42-44 Bạch Đằng Street and 31 Trần Phú Street date back to 1898 and will be redecorated for exhibits, photos and documents related to the culture of Đà Nẵng and the central region.

Hùng said the Studiomilou company from Singapore will take charge of decorating the project while preserving the unique original architecture of the old buildings.

He said the new modern items that had built in the interior of the old buildings as well as new buildings will be demolished to preserve the 122-year-old site.

“We respect the entire architecture of the old building during the work. Only damaged and poor structural items will be repaired under the original drawing and plan,” Hùng said.

He said the old buildings, which were the city hall during the French Colonial period (1898-1900), and then used as the city municipal administration centre in 1997-2014, are now the last vestiges of the past on Bạch Đằng Street as the others were destroyed to make way for high-rise hotels and apartments.

Following the plan, a 2,400sq.m public space will be reserved for the community and education, while new buildings will be constructed on the west side to host administration and visitor services.

According to the Đà Nẵng Museum, the new site at 42-44 Bạch Đằng Street will rearrange displays by applying 3D tech and an audio guide.

It said the new museum will exhibit and store 24,000 items and documents in indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces.

During the decoration period of the old buildings, the city will begin restoring the 1813 Điện Hải Citadel – where the Đà Nẵng museum was temporarily built in the 1990s – to preserve the old citadel as a National Special Relic site.

A pedestrian area will be built connecting the Điện Hải Citadel, the city’s library, the new 37-storey administrative centre building, the new museum and a section of the Hàn River bank over a total area of 10ha.

Đà Nẵng museum, which is one of the most visited sites in the city along with the Chăm Sculpture Museum and Ngũ Hành Sơn (Marble Mountains), hosts around 600 visitors each day. — VNS