Egypt’s antiquities minister Mamdouh El-Damaty announced on Tuesday that the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum will be placed under international management, independent of the Egyptian government’s bureaucracy.

The minister said that once completed, the ambitious $1.1 billion museum would follow the example of the Biblioteca Alexandria which operates under a special parliamentary act granting the institution administrative independence, Yahoo News reported.

“We have a plan for it to have independence and an international board of trustees like the Library of Alexandria,” the minister told the assembled press at a news conference.

The museum is still under construction after the project ran out of money.
Photo: english.cntv.cn

In June, Egyptologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass made a recommendation to place the institution under international directorship because the “government routine cannot work for museums.”

After years of political instability, revolution, and violence, the Egyptian government is desperately trying to kick-start the tourism industry, which is essential for the country’s economic recovery.

The plan experienced a setback when construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum was halted in March after the project ran out of money.

Egyptian antiquities minster Mamdou El-Damaty said the museum will be placed under international management.
Photo: Cairo Post

Thanks to a $330 million loan and advisory services provided by Japan, the museum was able to finance the completion of a new conservation center, where damaged artifacts which will eventually make their way into the museums collection are already being restored.

The museum is now slated to open in 2018.

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