Printed from : The Leisure Media Co Ltd

13 Jan 2020


Grand Egyptian Museum set for launch by end of year
BY Andy Knaggs

Grand Egyptian Museum set for launch by end of year

The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum has finally been given an opening date, with one of the year's biggest cultural openings expected to draw more than five million visitors a year when it opens in Q4.

The project, which started construction in 2006, was delayed by the 2011 revolution in Egypt. Now set for the final quarter of 2020, the Egyptian government expects the "mega museum" in Giza to become one of the country's largest tourism draws.

Around 90 per cent of construction work and all of the planned artefact transfers to the site are now complete. The museum will show all of Tutankhamun's burial treasures in the same place for the first time, including 2,000 artefacts that have never been shown before.

The 480,000sq m (5,200,000sq ft) site will also include entertainment hubs, including restaurants and theatres, a conference hall and a playground. Hotels in the area, which are close to the famous Great Pyramids, are also reportedly undergoing renovation in readiness for the expected waves of visitors, while nearby roads are also to be developed.

Entry prices for the Grand Egyptian Museum have been announced, with tourists expected to pay E£400 (US$25, €22.49, £19.15). This is significantly more than pricing for the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which will close when the Grand Egyptian opens, where tourists currently pay E£160 for entry.

The opening comes in a year where Egypt is expected to welcome more than 15 million tourists for the first time since 2010 – a year before the revolution caused turmoil in the region.


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