Laos is Gearing Up to Unveil its Largest Museum

Source: Vientiane Times

A Lao businessman has spent US$50 million to develop an area near the Nong Xeum irrigation reservoir to establish the Vientiane Museum of Contemporary Arts, which will bring together 10,000 rare wood products, artworks, and ancient artifacts.

The museum is expected to become an interesting tourist attraction, according to Pathedlao Daily newspaper. More than 80 percent of the construction of the museum has been completed and it is expected to be finished this year, becoming a new and important tourist spot of Vientiane.

The Vientiane Museum of Contemporary Arts is located at Nonsa-art village in Xaythany district. Its owner, Mr Phisith Xayathith, said the construction started in 2021 and the project has a budget of more than US$ 50 million.

The museum will cover an area of 80 hectares to create a cultural, artistic, and natural tourism resource, he said. It will include a building presenting information about the entire complex, a reception building, an art and culture exhibition building that can host festivals, a sightseeing hall, a multi-purpose building, and a building to display wood carvings and paintings.

The complex will also have souvenir shops, exhibition buildings, hotels, resorts, restaurants and a simulated waterfall.  

Mr Phisith said the construction of the museum was timed to coincide with the Visit Laos Year campaign and the country’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2024, and he expressed the hope that it will attract both domestic and foreign tourists.