India to restore 50 quake-hit heritage sites in Bagan
India has started the second phase of its project to restore around 50 ancient buildings and pagodas in the Bagan area that were damaged by the earthquake, the Indian Embassy in Myanmar has announced.
A team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), tasked with carrying out the second phase of the project to restore the structure and chemistry of around 50 ancient buildings and pagodas in the Bagan area since September 2025, arrived in Yangon this week.
Following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on August 24, 2016, which damaged over 100 ancient buildings and pagodas in the Bagan area, the ASI initiated a project to restore the earthquake-damaged structures with the assistance of the Government of India.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the conservation and preservation of 72 pagodas was signed in Naypyidaw on May 11, 2018, agreeing to provide technical and financial assistance to Myanmar for these works.
The ASI has extensive experience in the conservation and restoration of 11 ancient buildings and pagodas under the first phase of the Bagan Restoration Project, including the restoration of the famous Ananda Pagoda in Bagan.
The handover ceremony of 22 projects of 11 ancient buildings and pagodas that were restored by the ASI under the first phase of the Bagan Restoration Project was held on December 13, 2024, and they were handed over to Myanmar in the presence of Ambassador Abhay Thakur and Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Tin Oo Lwin. The second phase of the project will build on the successes achieved so far.
The ASI team, in close coordination with the Department of Archaeology, Bagan, and with the help of local artisans, will carry out further structural and chemical conservation work on about 50 ancient buildings and pagodas.
A team from the ASI met the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Abhay Thakur, on August 28, 2025 and presented a report on the completion of the first phase of the project.
The Bagan Restoration Project reflects the Government of India’s commitment not only to the long-term conservation of Myanmar’s invaluable religious heritage but also to strengthening the long-standing cultural and faith-based ties between the people of India and Myanmar, the Indian Embassy said in a statement.
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