SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 10 million U.S. dollars are spent annually for the preservation and development of Cambodia's famed historic site of Angkor, a senior expert said.
"As I know more than 10 million dollars per year has been spent for the work of renovation and preservation of the Angkor," Prof. Azedine Beschaouch, scientific secretary for the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor), said here Wednesday in a press briefing at the conclusion of the 25th plenary session of the ICC-Angkor.
ICC-Angkor was established in 1993, a year after the Angkor was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
It is the international mechanism for coordinating all assistance extended by different countries and organizations for preserving and developing the Angkor.
Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona said key donors for the preservation and development of Angkor are China, France, Japan, and India, among others.
China has been involved in the restoration work on ruined temples in the complex of the Angkor since 1997.
Located in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the 401-sq-km Historic Site of Angkor is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation.
The ancient site attracted 2.32 million foreign visitors in the first eleven months of 2018, generating a gross revenue of 104 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales, according to a government report.
