Egypt seeks to transform GEM into the country’s first eco-friendly museum

Egypt is working to transform the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) into the first eco-friendly museum in the country.

There are several services being reviewed to make sure the museum meets the required standards for environmental, economic, and cultural dimensions sustainability, said Atef Moftah, supervisor-general of the GEM project.

The review comes in line with the Egyptian tourism ministry’s strategy for sustainable development under Egypt’s Vision 2030 to preserve the ecological balance and the sustainability of tourism and antiquities, encourage the sector to develop in unison with the transition to a green economy.

The museum is in the process of obtaining Egyptian Green Pyramid accreditation, Moftah added.

To obtain the certificate of accreditation, the Egyptian official explained, the GEM has to meet a number of special requirements.

These requirements include visitor services, the transportation to the museum, ease of access, the creation of bike paths, parking lots, the use of electric cars, efficiency of water and energy consumption, especially in the museum’s green landscape, as well as use of renewable energy sources, he added.

“Approving the museum as a green building also includes ways of managing it and the quality of the internal environment by improving its ventilation system and the use of natural ventilation and air circulation that must comply with the minimum required ventilation rates,” Moftah said.

The accreditation is being conducted in collaboration with the National Centre for Housing and Building Research, he added.