According to director of the Centre for Preservation of Hue MonumentsPhan Thanh Hai, the provincial People’s Committee has worked with theMinistry of Construction’s Institute for Construction Science andTechnology to repair the section of the building which collapsed on May15.
Hai said construction units have partially reinforced thesystem of wood columns, which were rotten and could not sustain thepressure of the roof, which partially collapsed.
Phu Van Lau islocated on the main axis of the Imperial Citadel of Hue, facing theHuong (Perfume) River. It was built in 1819 under Emperor Gia Longand used as a place for listing the important edicts of the king and theroyal court and analysing the results of examinations held by thecourt.
Before 1975, Phu Van Lau was restored, using concreteframes combined with a number of wooden pillars. Since 1993, thebuilding has been restored a few times, but only on a small scale due tofunding difficulties.-VNA