Egypt awards contract for museum project

The Egyptian Ministry of Culture yesterday signed a five-year, multi-million dollar contract for a joint venture with Hill International and EHAF Consulting Engineers to provide project management services during the designing and construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum, according to a company statement.

The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest museum in Egypt, the largest Pharaonic museum in the world and a leading centre for scientific, historical and archaeological studies.

Its 21st century galleries will be located in an iconic building situated at a point where Cairo meets the desert, abutting the Giza Pyramids world heritage site. The museum is expected to draw five million visitors annually, increasing after two years to eight million visitors.

The museum, designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, Ove Arup, Buro Happold and others, will encompass a total built up area of 120,000 sqm, in which more than 100,000 artifacts spanning 3,500 years of ancient Egyptian history will be housed.

The total estimated project cost is $550 million (Dh2,020m), of which $300m will be financed through Japanese loans and the rest, by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, donations and international funds. The project includes a children's museum, conference and training centres.

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