An Indian expert team launched a survey of the Nhan Tower in south-central Vietnam’s Phu Yen Province in preparation for a restoration of this special national relic under an agreement between the two governments, local authorities reported on Monday.

The expert team, from the Archaeological Survey of India under the Indian Ministry of Culture, commenced the survey of the tower in the province’s Tuy Hoa City as the first step of their plan for preservation and refurbishment of the relic, according to the municipal administration.

This restoration plan was set up as per a memorandum of understanding signed between the Vietnamese and Indian governments on October 28, 2014, said Nguyen Cong Thanh, deputy chairman of the Tuy Hoa People’s Committee.

The Indian experts on Sunday took measurements of the tower, used drones to capture the relic, and created 3D scans of the tower’s structures and other works to collect initial data necessary for the survey, Thanh stated. 

As the tower has seriously deteriorated after hundreds of years in existence, with many cracks and breaks over its structure and the subsidence of its foundation, the Tuy Hoa authorities have asked the Indian experts to work out solutions for suitable repair and recovery.

The team expects to replace damaged bricks and treat cracks on the tower body, reinforce some structures, eliminate organisms harmful to the relic, and clean up the inside, among other works.

The authorities instructed Indian experts to organize their work in a manner that does not disrupt the sightseeing experience for visitors to the tower.

This national relic holds special significance as a signature symbol of Tuy Hoa, particularly, and Phu Yen, in general.

Located near the top of Nhan Mountain by the Ba River in the city, the tower was built some time between the late 11th and early 12th centuries. 

The tower, in a quadrilateral shape, is nearly 24 meters high and has four levels, with each upper floor being a miniature of the lower one. Each side of the tower's base is 10 meters long.

Throughout the wartime period (1945-54), certain elements of the tower suffered damage.

Recently, local authorities have undertaken efforts to repair the affected components, addressing both internal and external damage, and mending cracks in the structure.

In 1988, the Nhan Tower was recognized as a national architectural and artistic relic.

Thirty years later, the tower was classified as a special national relic under a prime ministerial decision in late 2018.

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