Egypt’s vast $1bn museum to open in Cairo after two-decade build

Tourists view the pyramids of Giza from the Grand Egyptian Museum. There is a connecting walkway from the museum to the pyramids. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP

A vast $1bn museum billed as the world’s largest archaeological facility dedicated to a single civilisation will open outside Cairo on Saturday, after countless delays over the course of its two-decade construction.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, located a mile away from the pyramids of Giza, covers an area of 470,000 sq metres. The complex was announced in 1992 but it was not until 2005 that construction began. Some areas of the museum opened in a soft launch in 2024.