French hotel in Pagan

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 French Group to Build Hotel at Temple Site 
   BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ The French-based hotel group Accor
announced an agreement Thursday to build a 220-room hotel in Pagan,
central Burma, until recently the nearly deserted site of thousands
of ancient temples.
   Accor subsidiary Accor Asia Pacific will join the current owner
of a 68-room hotel at Pagan, Myanmar Thiripyitsaya Co., and add 152
rooms. The new hotel will bear the name Novotel, a chain of hotels
Accor owns.
   Reggie Shiu, Accor's regional chief executive, said the
agreement ``further strengthens our hotel network and strongly
positions us to take advantage of this growing market.''
   Large hotels mark a major transformation for Pagan, a former
capital of Burma long since deserted except for thousands of ruined
temples built from the 11th to 13th centuries that have enchanted a
few thousand intrepid visitors a year.
   One of the wonders of Southeast Asia, Pagan rivals Cambodia's
better-known Angkor complex as perhaps the richest archaeological
site in Southeast Asia.
   Until the past couple of years, most visitors stayed at a
handful of hotels that rarely exceeded 20 rooms. Transportation
between temples was by rented bicycle or horse cart.
   The military government that rules Burma has undertaken a
massive campaign to open the country to tourism, and increasing
visitors to Pagan ranks high on the list of money-spinners.
   An area away from the main temples has been zoned off for new
hotels.
   The regime, which has renamed the country Myanmar, has labeled
1996 ``Visit Myanmar Year,'' but the recent arrests of hundreds of
supporters of the country's best-known dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi,
have reportedly kept some visitors away.
   Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her
non-violent promotion of democracy, has urged foreign businesses to
stay clear of Burma, believing investment will entrench the regime
in power.
   The government counters that investment will spur Burma's
long-moribund economy and improve the lives of ordinary people.
   Accor Asia Pacific already has built a Novotel in Mandalay,
Burma's second city, and is constructing a Sofitel in the capital
of Rangoon.
   
271158 Jun GMT