CAIRO, June 23, 2018 (MENA) – Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli hailed on Saturday the Grand Egyptian Museum project as "giant and cultural." Speaking at a press conference at the project site, Madbouli also praised the project to develop the Pyramids plateau area, which he said has reached a promising stage and is set to be one of the world's largest cultural and tourist projects, along with that of the Grand Egyptian Museum. The premier made the remarks after making his first inspection tour of the museum in the presence of Antiquities Minister Khaled el Anani, Giza Governor Mohamed Kamal el Dali and head of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Kamel el Wazir. The prime minister expressed thanks to Wazir for the efforts exerted by the Armed Forces Engineering Authority to finalize the museum's project, describing what has been achieved by the authority as a success story. In a year, the Armed Forces Engineering Authority has increased the project's implementation rate to 78 percent, up from 17 percent, which he said goes in line with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's directives to finalize the project by the end of 2018. In the same regard, Madbouli said the construction works will be completed within two weeks. Commenting on the presence of horses and camels in the area, he said it is an issue that will be resolved in a cultural way without harming an estimated number of 1,500 persons, who have been earning their living that way in the archaeological area. Madbouli also noted that the Grand Egyptian Museum will help increase tourist and cultural attraction to Egypt worldwide. Speaking at the conference, Minister of Antiquities Khaled el Anani said the Grand Egyptian Museum is the largest in the world, with an area of around 500,000 square meters gathering the artifacts of Egypt's ancient civilization. The museum will include about 100,000 artifacts, of which 50,000 will be displayed and the rest to be stored, he revealed.
