The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has won the worldwide Project of the Year award for users of the FIDIC 2024 international contract models, during the sixth annual FIDIC International Contract Users Awards ceremony, held in the British capital, London.
This award is the first of its kind for an Egyptian project, and showcases its success in managing and implementing FIDIC contracts as part of the museum project’s continuation of making international achievements.
Second award in a month
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy hailed the museum’s winning of this award – the second this month, as the museum had also won the Prix Versailles award last week among the seven most beautiful museums in the world for2024.
Fathy expressed his thanks and appreciation to everyone who worked on completing this huge museum, over the past years, and the great efforts made by all the concerned parties and agencies in the state, so that the museum could attain the prestigious position it enjoys today.
The General Engineering Supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the surrounding area project, Atef Moftah expressed his pride in this achievement, stressing that the museum project reflects the Egyptian state’s commitment to international standards in managing major projects.
It also serves as a testament to the state’s ability to achieve excellence and innovation, while preserving the cultural and civilizational heritage, he added.
Overcoming challenges
Moftah explained that the parties responsible for managing and constructing the project were able to overcome all the challenges that the project faced during its construction, including the Coronavirus pandemic, the change in the US dollar exchange rate, rising fuel prices and others – all without the need to resort to the dispute resolution team or international arbitration, throughout the past nine years since 2016.
“The Grand Egyptian Museum project demonstrates remarkable uniqueness and distinction,” said the Chair of the Jury, Sir Vivian Ramsay. “It is important to see the increasing use of FIDIC contracts globally and their pivotal role in the delivery of international construction projects.”
The Chair of the FIDIC International Foundation, Catherine Karakatsanis, added that the FIDIC Contract User Awards are an essential part of the global events calendar and highlight best practice in the use of these contracts and their role in enhancing transparency and cooperation between parties.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
