The Grand Egyptian Museum will serve as “one house for all ancient Egyptian civilisation” and is “unique among all other museums”, says the project’s general director.
During a press conference this week, Atef Moftah, general director of the Grand Egyptian Museum project, said the upcoming institution will be “a gift to humanity”.
Moftah said the new museum is “a destination, not just a building”. He added, “Once the museum is open for the whole world, all those who are interested in this subject will be amazed.”
Due to open in late 2023, the Grand Egyptian Museum “will be able to preserve and restore old monuments and antiquities in a single warehouse and this is something that we are proud of”, Moftah said.
“A gift to humanity”
On the long-delayed destination and the challenges presented, he added: “From 2000 to 2016 the progress was less than 2 percent. It was almost 0 percent.
“The state got involved in the project and decided to seek solutions to the slow progress. Within four years, and due to the good harmony of the team, plans came from below 2 percent to 95 percent.”
The Grand Egyptian Museum will be the biggest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilisation. It will house a collection of more than 100,000 artefacts across 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history.
“The other big challenge that was very successfully completed was moving all the artefacts and monuments and having them very well preserved to be displayed for the whole world,” Moftah said.
Discussing the issue of repatriation, he continued: “That’s why Egypt has to have this big house for its own ancient antiquities and monuments as proof that we’re able to preserve our ancestors and belongings.”
Project management services for the Grand Egyptian Museum are provided by a joint venture of Hill International and EHAF consulting engineers.
“There were multiple challenges that had to be overcome and Hill brought to the table several best practices from its toolbox of expertise and experience to take this project to the finish line,” said Perihan Elwy, Hill’s vice president for Egypt projects.
“The Grand Egyptian Museum will be one of the most memorable projects for Hill International in its global portfolio of cultural projects.”
