Designs for a new gallery dedicated to ancient Egypt have been released by Bolton Museum and exhibition designers Leach Studio. Work is already underway on the £3.8m (€4.3m, US$5m) addition to the museum, in the English town of Bolton, Lancashire, with the venue set to re-open in 2018 following essential roof repairs and electrical works. The Eternal Egypt gallery will showcase Egyptian artefacts, a replica Pharaoh tomb, and explain how

Architecture studio Weston Williamson + Partners have triumphed in an international design competition to create a Science City for Egypt. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina – a major library and cultural centre – organised the single phase, open contest to receive conceptual designs for a 125,000sq m (1.35m sq ft) complex designed to promote scientific knowledge to the public. Malaysian studio Ngiom Partnership came second with Zaha Hadid Architects finishing third. The

An open international architecture competition has been launched to design a future Science City in Egypt. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a major library and cultural centre, has organised the single phase, open contest to receive conceptual designs and masterplans for a 125,000sq m (1.35m sq ft) scientific complex designed to promote scientific knowledge to the public. The city will house interactive science exhibitions, a museum, a planetarium, an observation tower, research

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has said it is reviving ambitious US$150m (€136m, £97.8m) plans to develop 'the world’s first underwater museum', which will showcase the submerged ancient ruins of Alexandria. Announced by minister of antiquities Mamdouh al-Damaty, the plans have been in the works for more than seven years after the government decided to turn the ruins, which date back to 365 AD, into a tourist attraction. According to Youssef

FRHI Hotels & Resorts has signed agreements with developer Citystars Properties to brand and operate two new hotel projects in Egypt, in addition to the three hotels planned at the separate Sharm El Sheikh development. The two new projects include Fairmont Soma Bay, south of Hurghada on the eastern shores of Egypt on the Red Sea coast, and a Swissôtel in Katameya in Cairo. Both are scheduled to open before

Plans for a development in Egypt, which were derailed by the Revolution in 2011, are back on track according to one of the key players behind the US$1.1bn (€1bn, £738m) safari, theme park and hotel development near Cairo. A consortium made up of Egypt-based 300 Years History, Canada’s Maple Leaf, South Africa’s Glen Afric, Italian Pinfari and Chipperfield Companies Group, is behind the proposal, which has been submitted to the

In an effort to combat a failing economy that has plunged a quarter of its population into poverty, Egypt is planning to build a new US$45bn (€42.3bn, £30.6bn) administrative, business and leisure capital east of Cairo to house five million people. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's (SOM) Philip Enquist has been placed in charge of urban design and planning for the mega-development, which will be linked to Cairo through extensive public

A large hourglass has been installed in Turin, Italy’s, Piazza San Carlo, counting down progress as the €50m (US$62.3m, £39.7m) redevelopment of the city’s Egyptian Museum reaches its final stages. Scheduled to fully reopen on 1 April 2015, Museo Egizio or the Egyptian Museum of Turin is one of the world’s oldest Egyptian museums. Founded in 1824, it ranks second only to its counterpart in Cairo. The museum is at

Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts is to launch a new hotel that will feature a Swahili-themed aqua park and spa in Egypt. Located at the southern end of Hurghada, Steigenberger Aqua Magic will house 688 guest rooms including family rooms, deluxe rooms and suites. The resort, which will open end of 2013 or early 2014, will feature a Splash-certified Aqua Park with a range of slides and attractions including a separate