The Vietnamese government has approved an emerrgency package worth VND100 billion (US$4.3 million) for the repair of Thai Hoa Palace at the Imperial Citadel of Hue in central Thua Thien-Hue Province, which was heavily damaged by recent storms and floods.

The provincial People’s Committee announced the emergency aid, approved by the prime minister, on Tuesday afternoon.

Thai Hoa is the most important palace at the Hue Imperial Citadel, part of the Complex of Hue Monuments, and is the coronation venue of 13 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).

Tiles on the western side of Thai Hoa Palace’s roof have become loose after the historic storms and floods in October and early November, according to Vo Le Nhat, director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center.

The palace had also been degraded over time.

Therefore, the repair of Thai Hoa Palace is urgently required.

In 2017, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center carried out a restoration of the palace, along with many other monuments and historical construction works at the complex.

In addition to Thai Hoa Palace’s renovation, the government also allowed the People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue to commence the second phase of the large-scale relocation at the Hue Imperial City, with a budget of VND2.06 trillion ($89 million) allocated from the state budget.

Of the amount, VND1.76 trillion ($75.9 million) will be used for site clearance and compensating 1,954 households living in Hue Imperial City and the emergency preservation of Thai Hoa Palace and Thai Mieu, the temple to worship Nguyen Lords.

Located in Thua Thien-Hue Province, the Complex of Hue Monuments is one of the most famous tourist destinations among both Vietnamese and foreigners as it used to be the political, cultural, and religious center of the Southeast Asian nation.

The attraction was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 for being the outstanding example of an eastern feudal capital.

The number of visitors to Hue City, the capital of Thua Thien-Hue, reached 1,603,456 in the January-November period of 2020, down 64.3 percent year-on-year, including 556,377 foreign visitors – a decrease of 71.4 percent from 2019, according to the provincial Department of Tourism’s statistics reported by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

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