This undated photo shows the restoration site of the Angkor Wat's Bakan tower in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The restoration work on the southeast Bakan tower platform of the famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia has been completed, the Apsara National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday. (ANA/Handout via Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The restoration work on the southeast Bakan tower platform of the famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia has been completed, the Apsara National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday.
Angkor Wat is a major temple in the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia's northwestern Siem Reap province, and the ANA is the government agency responsible for managing, safeguarding and preserving the ancient park.
Kham Mony, an architect in charge of the Bakan tower's restoration site, said the southeast Bakan tower platform was dilapidated due to age, tree roots and rainwater eroding its laterite foundation, saying that the restoration work began in January last year.
"Our team had already repaired 292 broken stones, and re-organized those stones into their original locations," he said.
"We expect that after the completion of the restoration, Angkor Wat's Bakan tower will be the main location for tourists to visit," he added.
The 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park is home to 91 ancient temples, which were built from the ninth to the 13th centuries.
The kingdom's most popular tourist destination attracted almost 800,000 international visitors in 2023, up 177 percent from only 287,454 in a year earlier, the state-owned Angkor Enterprise said.
It added that the site earned 37.1 million U.S. dollars in revenue from ticket sales last year, up 222 percent from 11.5 million dollars in the year before. ■
