The estimated cost for the project is VND86 billion (US$3.7 million).
On September 12, authorities from the Binh Dinh People's Committee announced that the province will move forward with the design of a relief to be carved into Ba Hoa Mountain in Quy Nhon, Tuoi Tre reports. The artwork is titled 'Lac Long Quan – Au Co and the Roots of National Unity.'
According to the Binh Dinh Department of Culture and Sports, the total length of the relief is 81.5 meters, and its height stretches 35 meters. There will be 3,000 square meters of architectural landscaping and gardens accompanying the artwork.
The relief will have three layers. The first layer depicts Lac Long Quan and Au Co surrounded by clouds. The second layer will portray 18 Hung kings, and the third layer features Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. The proposed timeline for the project is 2020–2022.
A detailed plan on how the project will be implemented, however, is not ready, according to Le Kim Toan, the permanent vice secretary of Binh Dinh’s Provincial Party Committee.
In order to create the relief, 20 to 25 meters of the mountain’s surface will have to be sheared off. Some officials, such as the Binh Dinh Provincial Party Committee's former secretary, Vu Hoang Ha, question the feasibility of the project. Ha told the news source that such a project needs a rearranging of the traffic network in the area, in addition to an examination of the mountain's surface to see if the proposed work is safe.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre]