Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, built by Belgian company Besix, officially opens
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will be officially opened on Saturday evening in Cairo, in the presence of Belgium's King Philippe and prime minister Bart De Wever. The museum was built by the Belgian construction company Besix.
Work on the museum, not far from the pyramids of Giza, took decades. Construction was delayed by events including the Arab Spring uprising and the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, the museum cost more than 1 billion dollars.
Besix, headquartered in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, was responsible for the construction, lighting, air conditioning, ICT and the transport of some of the most important pieces, as well as labels for exhibits.
The company previously helped build the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in the world. Later this year, Besix will complete the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi and, in 2026, the new Guggenheim museum. Besix also helped build several stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The museum in Cairo, which will be open to the public from Tuesday, is expected to further stimulate tourism. The main attraction is the treasure of Tutankhamun, which was discovered in 1922 in an intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt, containing almost 5,000 funerary objects.
In total, the GEM houses more than 100,000 artefacts, half of which will be on display. It is the largest collection in the world dedicated to a single civilisation.
Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouli speaks to the press prior to the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum © PHOTO KHALED DESOUKI / AFP
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