HANOI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will spend over 1,400 billion Vietnamese dong (some 62 million U.S. dollars) constructing a national cemetery for its senior officials, heroes and other influential figures.

The new 120-hectare Yen Trung Cemetery will be built at the foot of Ba Vi mountain in Thach That rural district, Hanoi capital, 40 km from the downtown, the municipal authorities said on Friday.

The new cemetery will house 2,200-2,500 graves and its campus can accommodate some 5,000 people. Its construction will be completed within 36 months.

The 5.5-hectare Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi's Cau Giay urban district, which was put into use in 1982, has had full occupancy.

Mai Dich Cemetery contains hundreds of hierarchically arranged graves of Vietnamese party and government leaders and other famous people in the fields of politics, military, culture and science. It also has a separate section reserved for common martyrs who died in the war, many of whom are without name.

According to a plan on upgrading and developing cemeteries in Hanoi till 2030 with a vision to 2050, Mai Dich Cemetery will be upgraded into a national cemetery park, and a new national funeral home will be built in the city's Hoai Duc rural district.