Yangon General Hospital, reminiscient of an era long past, standing proud since 1899. It is under consideration for the 18th blue plaque by YHT. Photo: Phoe Khwar
FIFTEEN more commemorative blue plaques are planned to be installed in Yangon this year by the Yangon Heritage Trust, a non-governmental heritage body conserving historic buildings around the city, its Director Daw Moe Moe Lwin said.
After making negotiations with the Yangon City Development Committee, the YHT will implement its project to place blue plaques on colonial-era buildings in Yangon, which has Asia’s largest collection of colonial-era structures.
The Yangon Heritage Trust was established in 2012 by Historian U Thant Myint-U, the grandson of U Thant, the third secretary-general of the United Nations, as a centre of excellence in urban buildings and cultural heritage management. Since then, the YHT has led the conservation effort in the culturally rich city and set the standard for good heritage practice.
The YHT is now observing the collecting data related to the history of Yangon General Hospital, a major public hospital constructed in 1899, considering installing the 18th blue plaque at the colonial structure of the hospital still in use for its original purpose.
The YHT usually imports the blue plaques written in both Myanmar and English languages from Australia to ensure the quality needed to last for a long time without breaking.
The first blue plaque was installed at Yangon’s City Hall. The 17th and the most recent blue plaque was affixed at St. Paul’s Basic Education High School in Botahtaung. Both are situated in downtown Yangon.—200