Major marvel: A soldier walking past labourers working below the sitting Maravijaya Buddha marble statue. — AP
After more than three years of construction, the country is preparing to unveil a giant sitting marble statue of Lord Buddha in its capital Naypyidaw on Aug 1, the Information Team of Myanmar’s State Administration Council said.
The Maravijaya Buddha Image weighs 1,782 tonnes and stands tall at 19.2m, and is accompanied by a 5.5m-tall throne that weighs another 3,510 tonnes.
The monumental project on a 92ha land involved the dedicated efforts of more than 500 skilled engineering workers, said Zaw Min Tun, head of the State Administration Council’s Information Team.
“It is the world’s largest marble sitting Buddha statue and was entirely funded by public donations,” he said, adding that the statue aims to showcase the prominence of Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar and support global peace. — Xinhua
