Sai Kyaw Ohn also holds the position of deputy-minister at the Hotels and Tourism Ministry. At the press briefing he stated that a decade was plenty long enough for hotel and guesthouse proprietors to recoup their original investments. He said the deadline also applied to hotels still being built.
He explained that the national government was no longer prepared to permit hotels and other structures in heritage exclusion zones near temples, pagodas and religious statues. The deputy-minister finished off by saying the government planned to establish a dedicated hotel sector in Bagan but did not want to say where yet as it would only encourage speculators to buy up the land.
Local authorities have previously tried to stop developers building hotels near the heritage monuments yet have had little success. Bagan Archaeological Park covers 40km² and is home to over 2,000 structures and statues which are up to 1,200 years old.
Bagan to demolish hotels in temple heritage zones
News in Asia
Myanmar’s Heritage Management Committee says hotels encroaching on land close to historic monuments in Began are being given a deadline to move. Sai Kyaw Ohn told reporters that the ruling will affect 42 hotels and their owners have 10 years to comply before the buildings are demolished.