Myanmar's wait continues for Chinese experts to initiate conservation and restoration of Thatbyinnyu Temple, 5 years after MoU signed
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Hsu/ Yoon (NP News) - April 25
The Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Bagan Branch) reported that despite the signing of a conservation and restoration exchange letter for Thatbyinnyu Temple between Myanmar and China over five years ago, implementation has not yet commenced.
It has been reported that for the renovation of Thatbyinnyu Temple, China's expertise has already submitted a renovation plan to the relevant department, with an initial goal of commencing work in April 2024.
However, due to various reasons, the Chinese side has not yet presented any actions to initiate the renovation work.
The Director General of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Bagan Branch) informed NP News, "The Chinese experts have not arrived yet, and as a result, the renovation work remains pending. Initially, we had planned to begin the renovation work in April, but it did not occur because the experts haven't arrived. The MOU was signed in 2018, and for us, their reasons remain unclear. We are unsure of their conditions, and they have not presented anything related to the renovation work."
The Director General added, "The responsible departmental heads from Myanmar are eager to start the renovation work as soon as possible. However, due to the tardiness from the Chinese side, we are unable to initiate the renovation work yet."
The Director stated, "The estimate cost for their travel to Myanmar must be submitted to the respective Chinese authorities and they need to request a budget, which may be the cause of their delay. From our side, we are eager to start the implementation as soon as possible. We are prepared to cooperate and support the technical team for the renovation work. All they need to do is to come here and begin the renovation implementation. However, we are uncertain about the reasons for their delay."
A 9-year project for the conservation and restoration of Thatbyinnyu Temple was signed between China and Myanmar on September 22nd, 2018. Emergency renovation work began on the temple in April 2019.
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar in August 2016, damaging Thatbyinnyu Temple and 388 other ancient temples in Bagan. –