The joint venture of the local Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Belgium’s Besix has won the estimated $810m contract to build the third phase of the Egyptian Grand Museum.

Located in Giza, located 20 kilometres southwest of central Cairo and 2km west of the Grand Pyramids, the project involves building a main exhibition hall for 100,000 artifacts, and a conference and learning centre. Completion is expected by July 2015.

Three other contracting groups took part in the tender. They were France’s Bouygues, a joint venture of Spain’s Acciona and Athens-based consolidated Contractors Company, and a joint venture of Italy’s Rizzani De Eccher and the local Arab Contractors (MEED 4:2:11).

The client is the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), which is responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt.

European consultants completed the museum’s design and engineering team. Ireland’s Heneghan Peng Architects designed the architecture, while UK-based engineers Arup and Buro Happold are overseeing structural engineering.

A joint venture of US-based Hill International and the local Ehaf Consulting Engineers are managing the project.

US-based Industrial Construction & Engineering and Germany’s Siemens carried out the first two phases of the project, which included site preparation and enabling works, as well as building a power plant and secondary facilities on-site.