GEM general supervisor: 80 % GEM’s constructions completed

CAIRO – 14 June 2018: Around 80 percent of construction works of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) was completed and the rest of works was sped up for the museum to be opened on time, according to General supervisor of GEM, Tarek Tawfik.

Tawfik told Egypt Today that the transfer of Tutankhamun’s belongings will be finalized after Eid Al-Fitr holiday, as around 4,400 pieces of his holdings were transferred, whilemore than 600 pieces have not been moved yet.

Several international and Egyptian firms that were nominated for handling the maintenance works of the New Grand Egyptian Museum discussed on June 12 its new logo in a press conference held at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.

The idea of the logo was inspired by the actual design of the museum and its environment and surroundings.

Tawfik said that the logo illustrates the unique design of the museum, which overlooks the Giza pyramids.In addition, orange was the color chosen for the logo as it represents the setting sun over the pyramids.

The museum's name will be written in smooth Arabic cursive writing, inspired by the desert that surrounds the museum.

Tawfik confirmed that the logo was part of the works handled by the German firm “Atelier Bruckner”.

In the same context, Minister of Antiquities Khaledal-Anany said in his speech during the inauguration of the fourth International Tutankhamun Conference held on May 5 that the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is scheduled to be inaugurated in December 2018, will be a great global Museum that will dazzle the whole world, adding that the museum is expected to be one of the largest museums in the world.

“Two years ago the achievement percentage of establishing GEM was less than 20 percent; now it is over 70 percent. At this precise moment, 43,257 artifacts have been transferred to GEM, in addition to 4,549 artifacts from Tutankhamun’ s belongings; his total belongings amount to5,000 pieces,” said Anany.

Anany explained that the rest of Tutankhamun’s belongings have not yet been moved to the GEM to ensure that tourists can enjoy seeing them until the opening of the new museum. “When we transfer the last Tutankhamun piece from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the Grand Egyptian Museum, other valuable artifacts and magnificent treasures from Toya, Yoya, and San el Hagar, among others, will be displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir,” Anany added. The new museum will offer tourists the chance to see and know more about Egypt.