The Grand Egyptian Museum, also known as the Giza Museum, is a planned museum of artifacts of ancient Egypt. Described as the largest archaeological museum in the world, construction on the museum was set to be complete in the first quarter of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum is now scheduled to open in 2021. The museum plans to exhibit the full Tutankhamun collection with many pieces to be displayed for the first time. The museum is sited on of land approximately two kilometers from the Giza pyramids and is part of a new master plan for the plateau.
Overview
The design of the building was decided by means of an architectural competition. The competition was announced on 7 January 2002. The organisers received 1557 entries from 82 countries, making it the second largest architectural competition in history. In the second stage of the competition, 20 entries were asked to submit additional information. Judging was complete by 2 June 2003. The competition was won by the company Heneghan Peng from Dublin, Ireland, winning 250,000 dollars. Second place was awarded to Coop Himmelblau. Héctor Vigliecca and Luciene Quel, Ruben Verdi, Michael Zimmermann, Engel und Zimmermann, Fernando Pardo Calvo y Bernardo Garcia Tapia, Nuno Filipe Morais Monteiro and Martin Roubik received Honorable Mention. The building is designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, Buro Happold and Arup. The exhibition masterplan, exhibition design and museology is by Atelier Brückner. The building is shaped like a chamfered triangle in plan. It sits on a site two kilometers west of the pyramids, near a motorway interchange. The building's north and south walls line up directly with the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure. In front of the building is a large plaza, filled with date plants. One of the main features of the museum is the translucent stone wall, made of alabaster, that makes up the front facade of the building. Inside the main entrance is a large atrium, where large statues will be exhibited. On 2 February 2010, Hill International announced that Egypt's Ministry of Culture had signed a contract with a joint venture of Hill and EHAF Consulting Engineers to provide project management services during the design and construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum. The total estimated project cost is US$550m, US$300m of which will be financed from Japanese loans, the remaining will be financed by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, other donations and international funds. The new museum is designed to include the latest technology, including virtual reality. The museum will also be an international center of communication between museums, to promote direct contact with other local and international museums. The Grand Egyptian Museum will include a children's museum, conference center, training center, and workshops similar to the old Pharaonic places.
Progress
On 5 January 2002, then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak laid the foundation stone of the Grand Egyptian Museum. On 25 August 2006 the Statue of Ramesses II was moved from Ramses Square in Cairo to the Giza Plateau, in anticipation of construction of the museum. The Statue of Ramesses II, estimated to be approximately 3,200 years old and was moved to the entrance of the museum in January 2018. In 2007, GEM secured a $300 million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The Egyptian Government will fund $147 million while the remaining $150 million will be funded through donations and international organisations. In late August 2008, the design team submitted over 5,000 drawings to the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Following this, the construction tender was announced in October 2008. Earthmoving has begun to excavate the site for the building. Tendering was due in September 2009, with an estimated completion date of 2013. On 11 January 2012, a joint venture between Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries and the Belgian BESIX Group was awarded the contract for phase three of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a deal valued at $810 million. The Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh al-Damaty announced in May 2015 that the museum will be partially opened in May 2018. On 29 April 2018, a fire broke out near the entrance of the GEM but artifacts were not damaged and the cause of the fire was unknown. In May 2018, the last of King Tutankhamun's chariots was moved to GEM. In November 2018, the estimate for a full opening was pushed back to last quarter of 2020, according to Tarek Tawfik, GEM's director. In April 2020, the planned opening of the museum was pushed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The GEM is available for private tours in advance of its official opening.
Exhibits
The exhibition will cover about one third of the total museum grounds displaying 50,000 artifacts. The main attraction will be the first exhibition of the full tomb collection of King Tutankhamun. The collection includes about 5000 items in total and will be relocated from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Other objects will be relocated from storages and museums in Luxor, Minya, Sohag, Assiut, Beni Suef, Fayoum, the Delta, and Alexandria.
