Bangkok, 1 September 2006 - The UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific announced today that Shigar Fort Palace (in Skardu in the Northern region of Pakistan) has been honoured with the Award of Excellence in the 2006 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.

The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards recognize the efforts of private individuals and organizations that have successfully restored and conserved structures and buildings of heritage value in the region. Eligible projects must be more than 50 years old and the restoration must have been completed within the past 10 years. Buildings must also have been in viable use for at least one year from the date of the Awards announcement.

A total of 36 entries were received this year for the Heritage Awards from 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region. A variety of types of projects were submitted for the Awards, including: five religious buildings, four institutions, five residential buildings, eleven commercial projects, three urban districts, four archaeological in-situ sites, one memorial and three mixed-use commercial buildings.

The Norwegian Goverment was the Trust's main partner in the restoration of Shigar Fort. Funding was also provided by the governments of Germany, Greece, Japan, Pakistan, Spain and Switzerland. American Express also contributed funding.

The Shigar Fort has been converted, through adpative re-use, into a small hotel.

Press contact:

Sam Pickens Aga Khan Development Network P.O. Box 2049 1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland Tel: (+41 22) 909 7200 Fax: (+41 22) 909 7291 E-mail: [email protected]