20-million-dollar war memorial sparks public outrage in Vietnam

Sep 22, 2011, 9:19 GMT

Hanoi - Vietnamese plans for a memorial to war widows sparked an outcry Thursday when it was revealed that the cost had spiralled to five times its initial estimate.

A park is being built to house a statue dedicated to heroic mothers, a term used to describe women who lost husbands or sons in the country's wars against France and the United States.

Critics have said the money would be better spent on welfare for the women themselves. Many live in poverty despite their sacrifices for the country.

The cost of the 15-hectare park, buildings and 80-metre-wide statue in the central coastal district of Son Tinh was originally estimated at 3.9 million dollars when construction started in 2007.

But the government said Thursday that it was now set to reach 19.7 million dollars, as the price of materials has increased at least fourfold, and gas, oil and electricity were as much as three times more expensive.

Locals expressed dissatisfaction at the news.

'Authorities should make all information about this project public and transparent to avoid corruption,' said Pham Thu Phuong, a history teacher living near the construction site.

Secretary of the Son Tinh District Party Committee, Bach Thanh Diem, said 'Many Vietnamese heroic mothers are facing difficulties in their lives, many live in ruined houses, and many are living alone. It's such a shame.'

A report in Tuoi Tre newspaper included a comment by one unnamed reader questioning the reasoning behind the plan.

'I wonder why the officials are so keen to waste so much money on a lifeless thing while many real life heroic mothers live on less than 1 dollar a day. Are the officials getting something else from the project?'

There are currently around 44,000 women who have been given the title, many of whom are over 90 years old.

The memorial statue is in the image of local woman Nguyen Thi Thu, who lost four sons fighting the French, and another five sons, a son-in-law and a nephew during the war with the US.