NSS – Dec 14

According to a member of the Shwedagon Pagoda Board of Trustees U Bo Thin, it is planned to coat the Shwedagon Pagoda with gold the whole body in early 2025.

Gilding the whole body of the Shwedagon Pagoda is usually carried out once every five years. The current gold foils were last donated in 2018-19. Therefore, the next ceremony of offering gold foil to the pagoda is scheduled to be held in 2024-25, he added.

One year before the Shwedagon Pagoda is offered the gold foils, it is used to gild first to the Naungdawgyi Pagoda and auxiliary stupas located on the middle platform of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

A Buddhist monk who resides in South Dagon Township said, “We saw that the authorities from the Shwedagon Pagoda were preparing to offer gold foils to the Naungdawgyi Pagoda and other auxiliary stupas in recent days when we visited the pagoda. What is more, tiles on the platform were also observed renewing. It is a good merit to gild the whole body of the Shwedagon Pagoda.”

The Naungdawgyi Pagoda and other auxiliary stupas are expected to finish gold coating in 2023.

According to U Bo Thin, gilding the Shwedagon Pagoda will involve offering gold plates and gold coating processes. Usually, the upper part of the pagoda is gilded with gold plates, either three-visses weighted gold plates or six-visses weighted gold plates. At present, authorities are carrying out to production of those gold plates. Then, the gold coating process will be involved. The gold coating is made to the lower part of the pagoda.

It is scheduled to start the scaffolding to put the gold foils to the Pagoda in September and October 2024 in order to commence gilding the whole body in early 2025.  

The required gold is purchased from the Ministry of Mines at the market rate based on the global gold market price and exchange rate on the purchasing date, U Bo Thin said.