YANGON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has planned to launch a cable car service project at a famous pilgrimage and tourist site of Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in southeastern Mon state to enable easier access for visitors to the pagoda.
A South Korean company, the Sky Asia Co, is permitted to develop the project on 5.46 hectares of land within Kyaiktiyo Wildlife Sanctuary.
The project worth 20 million U.S. dollars is expected to be finalized by the end of July and a pilot project will be initially launched for three months, official media quoted the company as saying Sunday.
One cable car can hold a maximum weight of eight persons and the journey will take about 10 minutes running from Yathe Mountain to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda.
Forty-three cable cars will be put into service once the pilot project is successful.
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, a small one built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves pasted on by devotees, is one of the well-known pilgrimage sites in the country, attracting more than 80,000 foreign visitors over the past six months, according to the pagoda's Board of Trustees.
