Grand Egyptian Museum to Open in Nov.; Has Strong Ties with Japan

By Ayako Ishiguro / Japan News Staff Writer

18:18 JST, October 30, 2025

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will fully open its doors near the Pyramids of Giza in November.

Behind the opening lies nearly 20 years of support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), giving the museum a special connection to Japan.

GEM is considered one of the largest museums in the world and will house about 100,000 items, mainly ones dating back to ancient Egyptian dynasties spanning 3000 B.C. to 30 B.C. One highlight is the collection of artifacts associated with Tutankhamun, a pharaoh known for his golden mask. The museum is expected to become a new flagship attraction for Egypt’s tourism industry.

Construction of GEM was delayed due to political turmoil following the Arab Spring pro-democracy movements. It was then further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even in those difficult times, JICA continued to support the project.

“If you take history of what the Japanese have done in this worldwide project … they are a real partner in this journey and didn’t stop at any stage,” Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of the museum, said during a video lecture on Oct. 17 held at the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo.

The museum, with an area of 470,000 square meters, boasts impressive views of the pyramids and includes a permanent exhibition space and a children’s museum, as well as conference and education facilities. It partially opened in October last year and will have its official grand opening on Saturday and be fully open to the public from Tuesday.

The decision to construct GEM was due to the aging of the Egyptian Museum, which opened in Cairo in 1902. At the request of the Egyptian government, Japan’s support for the project started in 2006, beginning with the provision of yen-denominated loans. Of the total construction cost of about ¥140 billion, Japan provided ¥84.2 billion, about 60%, in loans.

Japan’s support has extended to technical cooperation, including specialists offering to help improve restoration techniques for Egypt’s large number of world-renowned ancient cultural assets.

In 2008, JICA began technical cooperation on the conservation and restoration of artifacts, developing human resources, such as conservation specialists and scientists able to conduct analytical investigations.

Previously, only Egyptians authorized by the government were allowed to carry out restoration work on Egyptian relics — it was impermissible for foreigners to do the work — according to the JICA. However, as a result of the long-standing collaboration, JICA began assisting with the conservation and restoration of Tutankhamun relics in 2016.

“Touching and working with unrestored artifacts was a tremendous learning experience for Japanese researchers,” said Kei Toyama, JICA’s director general of the Middle East and Europe Department. About 40 Japanese specialists were involved in artifact restoration.

Mie Ishii, an associate professor at Saga University and textile restoration specialist who joined the project in 2008, said: “Even amid the Arab Spring and following the [2011] Great East Japan Earthquake, JICA never stopped dispatching experts. This ultimately strengthened trust and fostered a sense of mission.”

Another highlight is the display of the two Khufu boats. The boats, which were built 4,500 years ago, are said to be treasures on par with the artifacts of Tutankhamun, both as evidence of how the Nile was navigated in that era and as proof that humans at that time possessed advanced woodworking skills.

The boats were buried side-by-side near the Pyramids of Giza. One was excavated, restored and then exhibited to the public in 1971, and the other was found in a highly degraded state in 1987.

A team of Japanese and other researchers began excavation and restoration work on the second boat in 2011, and as many as 1,700 components have been excavated. The excavated components will be assembled in a reinforcement frame.

At the Khufu Boat Museum, a special building for the boats located on the grounds of GEM, Egyptian restoration specialists will restore the second boat in front of visitors with the help of Japanese experts. This unique exhibition method will let people see the restoration work in real time. “[It] has never been experienced in any museum,” said Ghoneim.