Grand Egyptian Museum

also known as the Giza Museum, is an archaeological museum under construction in Giza, Egypt, about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the Giza pyramid complex. The Museum will host over 100,000 artifacts from ancient Egyptian civilization, including the complete Tutankhamun collection, and many pieces will be displayed for the first time. With 81,000 m2 (872,000 sq ft) of floor space, it is the world’s biggest museum. It was built as part of a new master plan for the Giza Plateau, Giza 2030. The GEM will also host permanent exhibition galleries, temporary exhibitions, special exhibitions, children museum, and virtual and large format screens with a total floor area of 32,000 m². The museum was built by a joint venture of the Belgian BESIX Group and the Egyptian Orascom Construction. The original estimated completion date was 2013, and past estimates of the opening date have varied. In July 2023, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities said that he “anticipates” the opening to be between October 2023 and February 2024.

Overview
The building design was decided by an architectural competition announced on 7 January 2002. The organisers received 1,557 entries from 82 countries, making it the second largest architectural competition in history. In the second stage of the competition, 20 entries submitted additional information on their designs. Judging was complete by 2 June 2003. The competition was won by architects Róisín Heneghan and Shi-Fu Peng, and their company Heneghan Peng Architects of Ireland; the awarded prize was US$250,000. The building was designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, Buro Happold, and Arup. The landscape and site masterplan were designed by West 8; the exhibition masterplan, exhibition design, and museology were led by Atelier Brückner. 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.

History

On 5 January 2002, then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak laid the foundation stone of the Grand Egyptian Museum. In 2006, the 3,200 years old Statue of Ramesses II was relocated from Ramses Square in Cairo to the Grand Egyptian Museum site, near that Giza Plateau. It was moved to the atrium 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 organizations. 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.