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, will be cleaned and touched up, and will be situated at the entrance of the museum by 2010.
In 2007 GEM secured a $300 million loan from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation. 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 (OCI) and the Belgian BESIX Group was awarded the contract for phase three of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), a deal valued at $810 million. the project is estimated to finish in 2015.
Read more about this topic: Grand Egyptian Museum
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