At the ceremony, the centre received a certificate from the Vietnam’s Record Book Centre in recognition of its Sakyamuni Buddha statue as the largest of its kind in Vietnam.

According to Most Venerable Thich Hue Thong, deputy head of the Binh Duong Buddhist Sangha’s executive board, the centre, covering 3,200 square metres, was built at an estimated cost of VND20 billion. It will be a major venue for Buddhist rituals in Binh Duong and provide classrooms for monks and nuns.

The centre is expected to welcome thousands of guests who will take part in a conference on the propagation of faith, to be held by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in 2011.

Hoi Khanh pagoda was built in 1868 under the Tu Duc King’s dynasty. It was recognised as national cultural and historical relic site by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in 1992.