1 April 2025
Chairman of State Administration Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, accompanied by the members of the entourage, examined the Maravijaya Buddha Image, world’s tallest marble Buddha statue in sitting posture, built in Dekkhinathiri Township, Union Territory Nay Pyi Taw, and the damage ofreligious buildings in the compound of Buddha Park this morning.
At the office of the pagoda board of trustees, the Senior General heard a report on daily and monthly checking of the measurements of the Buddha Image and the Throne datum points for the sustainability of Maravijaya Buddha Image, presented byChairman of Pagoda Board of Trustees U Thant Swe, Union Minister for Energy U Ko Ko Lwin, Director of Directorate of Military Engineers Maj-Gen Zaw Naing Oo, Union Minister for Construction U Myo Thant and officials.
According to their reports, there was no datum point changes between the records on the measurements conducted on 27 March and those on 28 March after the earthquake jolted and no sign of tilting, sinking of the Image and Throne and cracks in the connected parts at all.
The earthquake caused slight damage to ceiling of the religious buildings and stone slabs of the platform and Gandakudi Chamber and they are under repair. Other religious buildings and ring roads in the compound also faced minor damages.
Measures are being taken to systematically examine the earthquake and keep the records by the construction team and earthquake expert team, set up since the erection of the Image began, through modern techniques, and to systematical repair the minor damages and for prevention against possible earthquakes in the future.
In response, the Senior General said since the start of the Maravijaya Buddha Image construction project, which applied advanced methods and technology, gale resistance, earthquake resistance and natural disaster resistance had been taken into account for the Image’s sustainability.
Thanks to the measures, the Image and Throne did not face any tilting, sinking and cracks in connected parts. There were only few minor damages, and officials should systematically repair them. He also looked into the other requirements.
The Senior General and party cordially greeted the pilgrims in the compound. The Senior General paid homage to Maravijaya Buddha Image and offered flowers and water.
Later, the Senior General and party looked around the premises and Gandakudi Chamber ring road and inspected the ongoing repair works and attended to the needs.
The Senior General then rang the bell in the premises.
The Senior General and party examined the minor damages of Aggadhipati Sasana Beikman and looked into the requirements.
They then paid homage to the Buddha Image inside the Beikman.
The Senior General met the chair and members of the board and said as Maravijaya Buddha Image is the world’s tallest marble Buddha statue in sitting posture, it is a pride of Myanmar.
So, systematic measures must be taken for the Image’s sustainability and make preparations to face the possible occurrences in the future. The Image is massive and its height is the tallest among its kind.
Aggadhipati Sasna Beikman is also a massive cave-like building with no centre column.
Severe earthquakes are a huge challenge for engineers and engineering science.
Even during the powerful earthquake the Image and Throne showed no sign of tilting, sinking and cracks in the connected parts and the religious buildings faced only minor damages.
So, gratitude goes to engineers who took part in the project.
Systematic maintenance is required for the sustainability of the Image and the park.
CNC machines were used in carving the Image part by part.
Modern engineering techniques were applied in connecting the parts of the image for their durability.
Measures were taken from the engineering point of view in enabling the Image to have a 20,000-ton durability capacity, to withstand 120-mile per hour winds and 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the highest possible strength in Myanmar, and to prevent the Image from lightning strikes.
The Image’s parts were connected through the application of conventional methods and modern engineering science.
The total height of Maravijaya Buddha Image is 81 feet – height of the Image is 63 feet and that of the Throne 18 feet.
The Image was built in accord with the Yadanabon design and modern techniques to become the world’s largest sublime Buddha Image.
It is an honor for the engineering science that the massive earthquake was not able to cause any damage to the Image.
