Mid-2012 was confirmed last week as the projected point of opening for the Grand Egyptian Museum, as pen was put to paper on a deal between the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and engineering firms Hill International and EHAF Consulting Engineers to commence work on stage three of Egypt’s new cultural mecca.
Egyptian culture minister Farouk Hosni looked on as Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, and Raouf Ghali, board chairman of Hill International, signed the deal. Hosni stated that it will take 26 months to complete the massive building project, in the desert west of Cairo at Giza, just two kilometres from the pyramids.