Works started on Nov. 18 on the construction of the Laos National Music and Arts School in Vientiane , which is being built with non-refundable aid from the Vietnamese Government.

The project was under a bilateral agreement on economic, cultural and scientific and technological cooperation in the 2006-2010 period.

The school will be built in two phases.

The first phase will be built at a cost of 77 billion VND (4.2 million USD), covering 8,200 sq. m with lecture halls for music and dance, administrative offices, and essential technical infrastructure.

The second phase will cover lecture halls for theatre, cinematography and television, as well as a dormitory, a canteen and a club.

Addressing the ground breaking ceremony, Luu Quang Minh, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Music Academy , the project’s investor, pledged to complete the project on schedule./.