In the presence of Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, a contract was signed Tuesday 3/2/2010 under which Hill International and EHAF Consulting Engineers will be in charge of a project to build phase 3 of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Putting their signatures to the deal were Zahi Hawwas, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Raouf Ghali, board chairman of Hill International.

Hosni said the third stage of the project will be completed in 26 months, noting that GEM would be open for visitors by mid 2012.

It will be the biggest cultural project in the world, Hosni said, calling it a "cultural high dam that fulfills Egyptians' dreams and belongs to the whole world."

The museum will house over 50,000 artifacts including Howard Carter's Tutankhamen collection. There is provision for almost 100,000 artifacts in the future. Some 4.8 million visitors to GEM are projected annually.

The museum sprawls over 117 square feddans of land in Giza and is part of a new master plan for the plateau. On January 5, 2002 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak laid the foundation stone. The museum is situated two kilometers from the Giza pyramids.