21/12/2011 | C. Martin
Tourists planning to go on luxury holidays in Egypt may be interested to hear that nearly 100,000 ancient artefacts from the country will be displayed at the main exhibition hall of the Egyptian Grand Museum, when its construction is complete in July 2015.
The museum, which will be built on the Cairo-Alexandria highway overlooking the pyramids, is likely to encourage more people to take Egypt holidays.
An $810 million (£517 million) contract for the museum has been awarded to a 50:50 joint venture between property developer Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and BESIX Group.
Osama Bishai, OCI's construction group managing director, said: "The Egyptian Grand Museum will be the first iconic building in Egypt's modern history and will create approximately 5,000 jobs during the course of its construction.
"It will also be a great addition to Egypt's tourism industry."
The safety of the artefacts housed in the museum will be ensured with the help of a sophisticated security and communication system.
Copyright Press Association 2011