4 Egyptian-international consortiums shortlisted for GEM operation bids

CAIRO – 5 December 2018: Four Egyptian- international consortiums and a company were shortlisted to bid for the contract to manage and operate facilities at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) complex, according to the Ministry of Antiquities.

The bidding process and signing the contract with the chosen company or consortium to manage and operate the facilities at GEM will be concluded by the end of 2019, according to the Ministry of Antiquities' statement.

The shortlist includes an Egyptian-Italian consortium represented by Al-Kharafi National and its partners (Fabbro and Munus), Egyptian-American consortium represented by Hassan Allam Holding and its Partners (Jones Lang Lasalle), Egyptian-French consortium represented by Orascom Construction and its partners (Gl event, Louvre, GFM, Engie and RMN), Egyptian-English consortium represented by G4S Corporate and its partners (The Egyptian Investment and Samcrete) and the UAE company Mab Group.

Tarek Tawfik, GEM's general supervisor, said that GEM's facilities include a conference centre, a cinema, 10 restaurants, food courts, bookshops and other retail outlets, a traditional arts and crafts centre, and a multifunctional building that could be used for administrative purposes or as a boutique hotel.

He added that the Ministry of Antiquities is the only authority responsible for the maintenance, restoration and security as well as anything related to the treasured collection of antiquities of the GEM.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany said in his speech during the inauguration of the fourth International Tutankhamun Conference held on May 5 that the Grand Egyptian Museum will be a great global museum that will dazzle the whole world, adding that the museum is expected to be one of the largest museums in the world.

“Two years ago, the achievement percentage of establishing GEM was less than 20 percent; now it is over 70 percent. At this precise moment, 43,257 artifacts have been transferred to GEM, in addition to 4,549 artifacts from Tutankhamun’ s belongings; his total belongings amount to 5,000 pieces,” said Anany.