Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli has declared Saturday, 1 November, an official paid holiday to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the Cabinet announced.
The holiday will apply to employees of ministries, government institutions, public authorities, local administration units, and companies in the public and public business sectors.
The decision, made under the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, followed a meeting with Madbouli, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, and Mohammad Al-Saadi, board member of United Media Services (UMS) and general supervisor of the GEM opening ceremony.
According to the Cabinet, the move aims to facilitate the smooth movement of foreign delegations attending the event and to allow Egyptians to follow the highly anticipated celebration.
A large number of kings, heads of state, senior officials, and prominent international figures are expected to attend the ceremony.
Located near the newly opened Sphinx International Airport and overlooking the Giza Pyramids, the GEM will be the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilization—ancient Egypt.
Covering 500,000 square meters, GEM is twice the size of the Louvre Museum in Paris and 2.5 times the size of the British Museum in London.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
