The Japanese Government granted Egypt a LE300 million loan to complete the last phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in a deal signed Thursday, according to Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass.
During the signing of the deal with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Hawass said that construction work would begin in mid November and is scheduled to be completed by March 2015.
The loan will be paid back over a period of 30 years at a 5 percent interest rate.
Hawass said the museum will be one of the largest museums in the world and will feature 100,000 artifacts, half of which are being held in museum storage rooms nationwide.
He went on to say that a statue of King Tut would be the main attraction, including a number of artifacts from the Egyptian Museum that will be transferred to the GEM when it is completed.
Hawass added that the government, represented by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, spent nearly US$100 million on storage rooms and a renovation center for the GEM, which was funded by revenues from museum exhibition abroad.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
