A bronze cast producer in central Hue city announced recently that it would inaugurate a bell weighing 30-tons at the end of May, the largest-ever in Southeast Asia.

The producer – artisan Nguyen Van Sinh – said some 20 artisans and workers had been working on the big bell since August last year so that it could be transferred to northern Ninh Binh province’s Truong Yen historic and cultural site.

Sinh’s son – engineer Nguyen Truong Son – said the bell, worth over VND6.5 billion (US$404,228), is 5.5m-high and 19cm-thick and has a diameter of 3.4m.

Earlier, the producer had handed over a 21 ton bell to Gia Vien district’s Bai Dinh Pagoda of Ninh Binh province.