Threat to Shwedagon ends

YANGON Myanmar government announced on state television, Tuesday night, that a controversial project that was under construction on a plot of land near the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon has been cancelled.
Irrawaddy media reported that the mixed-use project, which was backed by international investors and included a high-profile Dagon City luxury condominium building, was supposed to be built close to the city’s most sacred site, the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Critics of the project claimed that such a major undertaking so close to the pagoda would cause structural damage. They called for a halt to construction that had already started mainly on below-ground foundation work.
In a rare response to public criticism, the government of President Thein Sein ordered a “complete shutdown” of the project, announcing that a cancellation agreement had been reached with the developers.
inside no 4The announcement said the decision was reached after “people and experts” expressed concern that the project could affect the stability of the sacred monument, and that both the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) and the Ministry of Defense—the original owner of the 71-acre property—recommended cancellation.
“The government also does not want to damage religious edifices and cultural heritage including the Shwedagon Pagoda therefore negotiations with the companies to cancel the projects have been undertaken,” the statement said.
The announcement also said that the government would continue negotiations with investors to insure that they are fairly compensated for losses.
President’s Office director, Zaw Htay, told the Irrawaddy that the affected developers — Shwetaung Development, Adventure Myanmar Tours and Incentives, Thukha Yadana and Marga Landmark Development — will be offered different land plots that are a safe distance from the pagoda.
Situated in Yangon’s Dagon Township, the complex included a five-star hotel, residential apartments and a shopping complex. Construction began last year on the best known component of the project, Dagon City 1, a USD300 million joint venture between the international firm Marga Landmark and local partner Thukha Yadana.
Work stopped last January, however, amid a reassessment of the project’s design and due to its proximity to the Shwedagon.
Yangon Heritage Trust founder, Thant Myint-U, said the cancellation was “very good news,” calling the decision a “victory for conservation” and a chance for developers to restructure their vision for the city.
“The Shwedagon Pagoda should not only be protected, it should be at the very centre of any vision for Yangon’s future,” he said. “The city urgently needs private as well as public investment, but new development should be in its proper place, ideally along new mass transit hubs, and not anywhere in the immediate vicinity of the Shwedagon.”
Shwedagon Pagoda is the most popular and well-known pagoda in Yangon. The pagoda is one of the main tourist attractions and one of the city’s advantages has always been breathtaking skyline visuals the city presented for tourists.
The pagoda received more than 500,000 foreign visitors in 2014 up 60,000 to the on visits in 2013.

sourced:ttrweekly.com