Prabowo and Indian PM Officially Launch Prambanan Temple Restoration Project

President Prabowo Subianto and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have officially realised the cooperation project for the restoration of Prambanan Temple. This partnership is set to run over the next 10 years.

The inauguration was carried out by both leaders following a visit to the Prambanan Temple Complex on Wednesday (7/6/202 nghiệm). Prabowo and PM Modi symbolically unveiled an agreement plaque inscribed with ‘Indonesia-India Collaborative Cultural Heritage Conservation’.

The long-term restoration programme, scheduled to run from 2026 to 2036, will focus its reconstruction efforts on more than 200 perwara temples in the second courtyard, most of which currently remain in ruins.

The restoration project will implement modern technological approaches, such as LiDAR surveys, artificial intelligence (AI)-based digital reconstruction, digital documentation, and the anastylosis method.

Through this collaboration, both nations are expected to achieve maximum results in physical conservation, scientific documentation, improved site management, the strengthening of cultural cooperation, and the transfer of expertise between the archaeologists of both nations.

For context, Prambanan Temple, built in 856 AD by Rakai Pikatan and Rakai Kayuwangi, has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991. The complex comprises 240 temple structures, featuring three main temples based on the Trimurti concept (Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma) and architecture based on Vastu Shastra.