5PS.3

 

3. The experts have noted the random manner in which ongoing conservation projects seem to have been selected.They this it is important that the Royal Government of Cambodia and the APSARA Authority in particular, with assistance from the ICC, are able to direct each applicant team towards monuments in need of priority interventions.

To achieve this, a Master Plan for the preservation and restoration of the monuments must be developed. The Plan should prioritize monuments for intervention and outline programs to be implemented based on neutral technical criteria.

Thus, they deplored for instance that a number of major temples are not earmarked for intervention (Phnom Bakeng, Eastern Mebon…).

It was also deemed worrying that the progressive slanting of the Angkor Wat Northern gallery, which has been reported for the past few years, did not lead to an in-depth diagnostic or even the establishment of basic control mechanisms.