I know I just posted a story about a fifth hotel zone to be set up in Bagan, but it looks like that it may be the last. After the fulfillment of current construction contracts, it looks like there will be no more hotels allowed to be built near the ancient city.
New hotels banned in ancient Bagan
DVB, 20 March 2014
Myanmar halts Bagan hotel development
Travel Daily Media, 19 March 2014
Myanmar halts new hotel construction in ancient temple city
The Nation, 19 March 2014
Myanmar halts hotel construction
Bangkok Post, 19 March 2014
Hotel construction has been halted in Bagan, as the Burmese government renews its pursuit of World Heritage Status for the national landmark.
A representative from the President’s Office, Soe Thein, said that while the government is committed to the preservation of the site, it could not dismiss construction agreements signed by the previous government.
Soe Thein blames the previous military regime for the construction of unsightly and potentially damaging hotels in the heart of the ancient complex, which, according to the Burmese government’s application to UNESCO, boasts over 2,500 individual temples, built between the 10th to the 14th centuries AD.
Full story here.
