Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has held a meeting to follow up on the latest developments on some projects being implemented for the restoration of ancient Saqqara archaeological area, aiming to provide an array of services to visitors there and contribute to the growth of inbound tourism as a result, Invest-Gate reports.

The meeting was held in the presence of Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled El Anani and Assistant Minister of Antiquities Hesham Samir, where the former presented a detailed report on the executive and financial status of a handful of projects implemented by the ministry, particularly the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) project – due to open in 2020, according to a cabinet statement on January 6.

The antiquities minister confirmed that the completion rate of engineering works at the museum reached 88%, while the structural works (concrete and metal) have been fully finalized, and the internal and external finishes are underway.

El Anani hailed the government’s efforts in developing the archaeological area of the pyramids plateau, which is carried out in cooperation with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority in preparation for the inauguration of GEM. He also underlined that the place is ready for opening and is awaiting Orascom Development Egypt’s services to start operating on-site in H2 2019.

In addition, he referred to the executive position of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in the ancient city of Fustat, Cairo, whereby the implementation rate for the project’s second phase reached between 70% and 65% for the third stage (A).

The antiquities ministry is considering building a power plant with a capacity of 4 megawatts on site, confirming that NMEC’s second phase is expected to be completed during Q2 2019, while the third phase is set to be finalized by the second half of 2020, according to the statement.

The minister also referred to the current status of the restoration project of Graeco Roman Museum Alexandria, which is about 40% complete and is expected to be finished during Q4 2019; as well as the renovation project of Cairo’s Baron Palace, which has reached an implementation rate of 62% and will also be inaugurated during the same period.

Meanwhile, El Anani stressed that there are several other projects scheduled to open during 2019, including a groundwater reduction project at Kom Ombo Temple in Aswan, the restoration of Prince Taz Palace and Sadat House, among others.