HURGHADA, Egypt, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Egypt announced the inauguration of the Hurghada Museum on Saturday, in an effort to boost cultural tourism in Red Sea province.
Located in the provincial capital of Hurghada, a major tourist destination, the museum is the first of its kind jointly built by the government and the private sector.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, "A private company has fully paid all the expenses of the museum's foundation and equipment in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated by the ministry of antiquities."
The museum, which covers 10,000 square meters, is expected to boost tourism in Red Sea province, located 400 km from Cairo.
It has a 3,000-square-meter hall for artifacts display, an entertainment area, a shopping complex and parking lots.
Costing nearly 160 million Egyptian pounds (nearly 10 million U.S. dollars), the museum houses 1,791 artifacts.
Madbouly added that the new museum will promote cultural tourism in a province that mainly depends on recreational and beaches tourism.
Khaled Anani, minister of antiquities and tourism praised the museum as "presenting a complete panorama about the Egyptian civilization in different eras."
He added the museum is an important addition to tourism in Hurghada. "Now the tourists who come to dive and see our beautiful creatures under the Red Sea can also enjoy our history and heritage."
The new museum is divided into twelve corridors with 41 displaying glass boxes in different sizes, said Mohamed Emam, chairman of the museum.
"The unique pieces that dated from the Old Kingdom till the 30th Dynasty have the loin's share of the museum," Emam told Xinhua.
The exhibited pieces mainly focused on the theme of beauty and the importance of family bonds, he added.
Four mummies well preserved are also displayed in the museum to show the importance of the "afterlife" for ancient Egyptians who believed that "good mummification will prevent suffering after death," according to Emam.
He added the restorers spent 18 hours per day in eight months to bring the museum to its best shape.
