Minister of State for Antiquities Mamdouh el Damati said Egypt's antiquities are the assets of Egypt's identity, asserting the fact that the Egyptian people have been a main interest to archaeologists around the world.
During a seminar held on Monday on antiquities, hosted by Ain Shams University's Faculty of Arts, the minister said the state is working on the establishment of the grand museum which will become an integral research cultural and educational institution stretching over an area of around 117 feddans.
The project is funded by the ministry and a Japanese company that has offered an easy loan worth 340 million dollars, he said.
He asserted the country's concern with protecting antiquities through establishing new museums.
The antiquities will be on display in an area reaching around 94,000 square meters and the rest will be vast areas of greenery, he said.
Warehouses affiliated to the museum will accommodate 50,000 pieces as only 150,000 pieces will be displayed, he added.
The Tutankhamun collection which includes 4,500 unseen pieces will be the main antiquities to be on display for the first time, he said.
Source: MENA