Viet Nam begins Space Center construction

VGP – A ground-breaking ceremony for Viet Nam’s first Space Center was held in the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Ha Noi on September 19. Once completed in 2020, the center would be the most modern one of its kind in Southeast Asia, marking a turning-point in the space science of Viet Nam.

September 19, 2012 6:33 PM GMT+7

The overview of the first Space Center in the Hoa Lac High-tech Park, Ha Noi, September 19, 2012 - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The ceremony was attended by leaders of the Ministry of Technology, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of National Defense, the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology, representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The center will cover an area of nine hectares in the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. It has a total investment of over ¥54 billion sourced from Japan’s ODA and the responding capital coming from the Vietnamese Government.

This is JICA’s first overseas high-tech investment.

The center will be able to design, assemble and control small satellites for weather forecasting, early warning of disasters, land management and prevention of climate change.

Addressing the event, Japanese Ambassador to Viet Nam Yasuaki Tanizaki underlined the significance of the project in raising the cooperation between the two countries in science and technology in general and special high-tech projects in particular.

The space center would serve the realization of the Master Plan for Space Technology Development by 2020./.

By Huong Giang