The Grand Egyptian Museum opens. After nearly two decades and a billion dollars spent.

Were there delays? Were there? Was there a gigantic budget exceeding a billion dollars? But it finally happened! The Grand Egyptian Museum opened its doors to visitors, and I think we can call it one of the most important cultural events of the year.

Though it seemed impossible, it finally happened. The Grand Egyptian Museum has finally opened! And this is a truly impressive undertaking, as it is one of the largest museums in the world and the largest dedicated to a single civilization: ancient Egypt .

"This is a great day for Egypt and for humanity. It's Egypt's gift to the world. A dream has come true: After so many years, the Grand Egyptian Museum is finally officially open," Nevine El-Aref, spokeswoman for the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, told CBS News .

The Grand Egyptian Museum finally opens. Photo: Press materials / Great Egyptian Museum

Okay, but why did we have to wait so long for this project?

The first talk of building such a site was… 32 years ago. In 1992, the Egyptian government allocated approximately 47 hectares of land for this very purpose.

It wasn't until 10 years later, in 2002, that an international architectural competition for the museum's design was announced. 2,227 proposals from 103 countries were submitted. Impressive, isn't it?

Ultimately, in July 2003, the contract was awarded to the Irish studio Heneghan Peng.

The museum was originally scheduled to open in 2010, but as you can see, due to a number of factors such as financial crises, regional conflicts, and the COVID-19 pandemic , everything… was delayed quite significantly.

The Great Egyptian Museum Photo: Press materials / Great Egyptian Museum

The budget for the new complex also increased significantly. While it was expected to cost around 500 million, it ended up costing more than twice that, all financed by state resources and funds raised through international cooperation.

While the timing and cost may not seem ideal, let's celebrate the fact that the museum is ready and welcoming visitors. And, at the same time, it boasts truly exceptional collections.

The Grand Egyptian Museum boasts 12 exhibition halls, totaling approximately 18,000 square meters. It's said they house around 100,000 objects, and to look at each one for a minute would require spending nearly 70 days in the museum.

Here you will see such gems as the 3,200-year-old statue of Ramesses II, weighing over 83 tons, or 4,500-year-old boats intended for journeys to the afterlife, found near the Pyramid of Cheops.

The biggest attraction, however, is the collection of 5,398 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun , the thirteenth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, whose reign dates from 1333 to 1323 BC. For the first time, these items can be publicly displayed in one place.

The government hopes the Grand Egyptian Museum will become a pillar of the country's tourism industry and thus support the Egyptian economy . Authorities expect the institution to attract 5 million visitors annually.