Egyptian Cabinet approved Wednesday the request of heritage ministry to receive soft loan estimated at US$482 million from the Japanese government to finish the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza (GEM). The loan will be dedicated for completing the museum according to the agreed upon schedule. GEM -also known as the Giza Museum- is currently under construction and scheduled to be partially open in May 2018. The Grand Museum is approximately two kilometers from the Giza pyramids and is part of a new master plan for the plateau. The design for the Grand Egyptian Museum was reached as a result of an international architectural competition initiated by the Ministry of Culture on January 7th, 2002. The competition was under the patronage of the UNESCO and supervised by the UIA. The museum complex aims to furnish all its visitors with a uniquely enjoyable, educational, and cultural experience. GEM will allow Egypt to become a major worldwide hub for Pharonic history and a must-visit place for Egyptologists. It aims at taking grasp of the diversity of Egypt's heritage of monuments and arts needed to be shown in one place in one location to maintain and preserve this huge legacy. The Grand Egyptian Museum complex is extremely flexible and suitable for permanent and temporary exhibitions with an attendance up to 15,000 visitors per day. GEM contains a library, a research center, restoration laboratories, a museum for children and one for people with disabilities, a public square with shops (particularly a specialized museum gift shop), cafes and restaurants, and an open air museum and parking facilities.
