Japan-Supported Grand Egyptian Museum Fully Opens

Cairo, Nov. 1 (Jiji Press)–The Grand Egyptian Museum, one of the world’s largest museums and built with Japanese support, fully opened to the public on Saturday near the famous Giza pyramid complex in the suburbs of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The museum houses more than 100,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt. In the special gallery, about 6,000 Tutankhamun relics, including the ancient pharaoh’s golden mask, are on display simultaneously in one place for the first time. The museum, located about 2 kilometers from the pyramid complex, has a site area of about 500,000 square meters. It is said to be the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilization. In addition to Tutankhamun’s collection, the restoration of a boat once belonging to an ancient Egyptian king, which was excavated by a Japanese research team, is on display in a separate building. There is also a preservation and restoration center that studies ways to improve techniques for repairing relics, as well as a conference hall and a lifelong learning center. The local newspaper Al-Ahram reported, “A nation’s dream comes true” with the grand opening of the museum. The GEM is a major national project whose concept began about 30 years ago, and Japan has played a significant role in its development. At the opening ceremony Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, emphasized that the opening of the GEM marks a new chapter in history, expressing his gratitude for Japan’s strong support. Japan has provided yen loans totaling about 84 billion yen for construction costs since 2006 through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Japanese research institutes and companies have transferred technology and trained specialists. Tokyo will continue to provide support for the museum’s operations and for conservation and restoration work. At a press conference in Cairo on Friday, JICA President Akihiko Tanaka said, “It is meaningful to contribute to preserving and promoting the common heritage of humankind.” He also suggested that Japan’s support for the museum is expected to help strengthen its position in the international community. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]