A joint venture of Orascom Construction Industries, Cairo, and BESIX Group, Belgium, defeated 39 other bidders to clinch the $810-million turnkey contract for the construction of the final phase of what will be Egypt's biggest museum.

The joint venture's scope includes construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum—which will house a conference center as well as the museum—an exhibition center, manager's residence and tunnels linking phase-one and phase-two construction to the main building. The 40-month contract also involves interior design and landscaping on a site that overlooks the legendary Giza pyramids.

Through the Grand Egyptian Museum's conservation center, Egypt's Ministry of State for Antiquities is fronting the project with a $392-million soft loan from Japan, among other financiers.

The agency says it intends to “create a state-of-the-art museum" of exhibitions and facilities that "accommodates the chronological story of ancient Egypt.”

The museum, located between Cairo and the Great Pyramid, is designed to house the “largest collection of pharaonic treasures in the world.” It is scheduled to open in July 2015.