Switzerland Provides Aid to Repair Banteay Srei Temple

By Soy Sophea

Switzerland has provided one million Swiss Francs (US $1.15 million) in aid for repairs to Banteay Srei temple in Siem Reap province. A signing agreement was held on January 26, in Phnom Penh, signed by Sun Saphoeung, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Swiss Ambassador to Cambodia Rodolphe S. Imhoof.

The agreement between Switzerland’s Banteay Srei Temple Maintenance Team and Cambodia’s Apsara Authorities will help in the development of international cooperation a Foreign Ministry official said, adding that the Swiss side is responsible for preparation, implementation and financing the project.

Samraing Kamsan, Under Secretary of State and Representative of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, welcomed the Swiss fund as the ancient temple as a crucial component of Cambodian culture.

“Cooperation between the two nations assures the conservation of the temple,” Kamsan said during an interview with the Cambodia Weekly January 28. “I believe the Swiss government will consider providing more aid to the Kingdom of Cambodia,” he added.

Romana Redeschi, Project Manager and architect of the Banteay Srei Conservation Project, said that the fund will support the project for one year starting from March 2008, aiming for completion in February 2009.

She said that this project was a continuation of another started in 2002 and will safeguard and add to the convenience of tourists. There will be a car park and commercial stands which should help ensure the sustainability of the project.

“I do not know whether the funds will continue or not,” she told the Cambodia Weekly by telephone.

The Banteay Srei Conservation Project involves architects, engineers and archaeologists, specialists and students. They are continuously trained in the methods and techniques of monumental conservation within the context of an SDC – APSARA collaboration. Further more, they take advantage of the expertise that UNESCO provides at its annual ICC conference, according to the Apsara Authority website.

The website said that there are two main phases to the conservation project: diagnosis and restoration. During the first phase, architectural and archaeological studies were conducted inside the monument and around its perimeter for to assess the site as a whole. The comparative analysis of the surveys carried out on different levels and scales and the progressive interpretation of the disorders will allow for the diagnosis to be completed and for a detailed restoration program to be established appropriate to the site.

This diagnosis revealed the extent of the damage to the structures and the importance of environmental issues. Subsequent analysis produced four main categories of architectural disorders. Category 1 refers to structural disorders caused by the effects of water and the weakness of the foundation. Category 2 refers to structural and accidental disorders caused by surrounding trees. Category 3 refers to degradation of the stone due to the effects of water and micro fauna and flora. Category 4 refers to damage caused by human influence (looting, mechanical stress, and so on).

During the Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum held in Phnom Penh in late 2008, Switzerland had pledged to provide 7,498,750 US dollars in aid for national development in Cambodia from 2009 to 2011.

In February 2007, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey visited Cambodia and pledged to help Cambodia in welfare and cultural matters. Calmy-Rey, who is also Swiss Foreign Minister, visited the Swiss-funded restoration works at the Banteay Srei temple of the Angkor Wat complex in the north of the country. There she saw children’s hospitals set up by Swiss doctor Beat Richner during the visit, which coincided with the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations first being established between the two nations.