Renovation
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture (MoRAC) and the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (DANM) and the participating teams have repaired 224 pagodas that were slightly damaged and restored 164 to their ancient original design, totaling 389, which were hit by an earthquake, till 31 July 2020, and they are still repairing the remaining one pagoda, according to the MoRAC.
An earthquake of 6.8 in Richter scale jolted at 17.05 hours on 24 August 2016, and causes minor or major damages to 389 pagodas in Bagan. After the cent percent completion of emergency repair of the earthquake-hit pagodas, the damaged pagodas were classified into first, second and third priority list in accordance with the results produced by the coordination with inter-national and internal experts of the field. Of the 300 pagodas of the first, second and third priority list, 76 were restored under the direct supervision of experts who were invited for the job. The remaining 224 pagodas of the third priority list were repaired with the contributions of donors, and in April 2017, the entire repair and renovation work had completed.
The repair and restoration work was jointly done by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture and the Department of Archaeology and National Museum till 31 July this year, with the participation of the Building Department and other organizations.
The work was carried out in under the advice of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) and internal and international technicians, the suggestions and discussions of the advisor team and the expert team, the results of the Technical Coordination Forum on post-earthquake renovation and the involvement of the Bagan International Coordination Committee in accordance with the international standard.
The designation of the priority list was based on the holiness of a religious edifice for the public, architectural value, the extent of damage, historical importance and the age, and the repair, renovation and restoration works were carried out in accordance with the international norms.
Zaw Myo (Myawady)