China's cultural heritage administration announced Sunday that it will invite international bidding for the ongoing facelift of the world biggest statue of the Buddha, in Leshan, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The purpose is to seek the most advanced technology and first- class protection for this item of the world's most precious cultural heritage, said Lu Lin, head of the administration office.

The bidding will be mainly for the third phase of the protection project, namely, a new 300-meter plank road, a comprehensive monitoring system of the condition of the statue, and the daily management, expansion and protection of the foundation of the statue.

Lu said that the estimated investment is 100 million yuan (US$12 million), and the administration office has already applied for a loan from the World Bank.

The design proposal has been submitted to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

China recently began to give a facelift to the statue, which is 1,280 years old and 71 meters high. The statue has been included in UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage list.

(Xinhua 04/02/2001)