Many people are doubtful over the feasibility of a major government project to upgrade 49 old state-owned cinemas to attract local audiences.

Fafilm Thai Van Lung, a state-owned cinema that has been privatized and could be demolished to make way for traffic infrastructure

The government has just approved a project to build 57 new state-owned cinemas and upgrade 49 existing state-owned cinemas during the 2012-2020 period.

The project is estimated to cost a combined VND10.8 trillion (USD517.5 million), including around VND6.5 trillion (USD311.4 million) from the state budget and VND4.3 trillion (USD206 million) from private investment.

Many people believe the scale of the investment is disproportionate and could be a waste of money.

If the project is successful, it would mean that the market would have an additional 106 state-owned cinemas, along with current private sector plans to increase the number of film theatres in the next eight years. This would be a comprehensive restructuring of the cinema market which is currently dominated by private and foreign investors.

The Department of Cinema often faces difficulties in finding places to hold film festivals and ceremonies

Several commentators have questioned what the state-owned cinemas could be used for, with suggestions including hosting film festivals or ceremonies as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Cinema has struggled to hold such events at private and foreign-invested cinemas.

Trinh Thanh Tam, Publishing Director of Galaxy Studio, said the country currently has around 300 cinemas nationwide with 40 being located in Hanoi and HCM City.

She said despite just14% of the country’s cinemas being located in major cities, their revenues accounted for 80% of total box-office takings.

Chinese Zodiac, a film starred by Jackie Chan earned revenues of around USD1.35 million in Vietnam

Many are worried that the project is doomed to failure as the state-owned cinema sector floundered due to substandard infrastructure, backward technology, bureaucratic administration and poor selections of films.

Vietnam’s movie theatres earned USD47.8 million in 2012, up 35% from a year earlier.

State-owned cinemas are hardly able to compete in the current market, and they may well be ear-marked to present films for poor people or in remote areas as well as showing art or experimental films.