Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and Japanese ambassador to Egypt Takehiro Kagawa signed on Monday a $460m loan to finance the second phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anany also signed the loan agreement for the project with Teruyuki Ito, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Nasr said that the loan shows the deep relations between Egypt and Japan, adding that the museum will be one of the biggest museums in the world, which would attract tourists from all around the world. She announced that the museum will open its doors for visitors by the end of 2017 after the first phase of construction ends, adding that all construction phases would be complete in 2022. Kagawa said that Japan would not only finance the construction, but will also facilitate the use of cutting edge Japanese technology in different fields, such as the restoration of monuments. El-Anany said that the museum will showcase up to 100,000 artefacts, including the full collection of Tutankhamun artefacts. The government of Japan has already provided the first phase of the loan, worth JPY 38,83bn, which was agreed upon in May 2006 between both governments. The ambassador said that the second phase of the loan provision comes in response to a request from the government of Egypt. He added that he expects the project will contribute to the development of the tourism industry and the creation of more jobs opportunities. He explained that Japan is also working with Egypt in different projects in other fields, such as renewable energy.
