First outdoor astronomy park in Southeast Asia to be built in Hanoi

Nam Cuong Corporation will commence with the construction of an outdoor astronomy park at Duong Noi Urban Area in Ha Dong district, Hanoi in the second quarter this year, marking it the first of its kind to be built in Southeast Asia.

Birds-eye-view of the proposed outdoor astronomy park
Birds-eye-view of the proposed outdoor astronomy park

At a press conference held in Hanoi on July 4, Tran Nhu Trung, Deputy General Director of Nam Cuong Corporation said that the park will be built at a total investment of VND 260 billion (US$ 11.4 million), including VND 160 billion (US$ 7 million) for facilities and infrastructure.

The park will cover 12 hectares with a lake located in the centre. Construction of the park will be divided into two phases along with consultation provided by Dr Nguyen Xuan Anh, Director of the Institute of Geophysics under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, and Italy’s landscape architecture EGO Group.

The first phase will see the construction of two squares, namely Big Bag Square and Zodiac Square, an outdoor stage, a garden displaying sculptures of great men of culture, an observatory and a water fall.

Spaces for children will also be built during the first phase, including water and sand playgrounds, a bouldering wall, a swimming pool and a wharf.

In the second phase, a research centre on astronomy will be constructed, which will house an inside database centre on astronomy in the universe and a weather forecast centre.

Speaking at the press conference, Tran Thi Quynh Ngoc, Vice President of Nam Cuong’s Board of Directors expressed her hope that the park will help provide visitors with background knowledge on astronomy and inspire an interest in astronomy among them, particularly children.