USAID Invests USD 1.5 Million in Egypt’s Cultural Heritage Program

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) will launch the second phase of the Cultural Heritage Tourism program, with USAID injecting USD 1.5 million in investments.

This new phase of the program will conserve cultural heritage sites in Luxor and Sohag, and provide new training opportunities for Egyptian antiquities professionals to better protect and manage the ancient sites. The phase will also create employment opportunities for semi-skilled workers from the areas around these sites.

Meanwhile, by relocating the storage for Amarna-period talatat blocks, which currently adjoin the Khonsu Temple, this program will help reinforce the US-Egypt agreement on cultural property protection.

Since its inception, the program has conserved and restored two tombs in Dra Abu El Naga, provided job opportunities to 400 Egyptian antiquities workers, and trained 76 Egyptian conservators. With this new phase, the total investment in the Cultural Heritage Tourism program from USAID will have reached more than USD 4.15 million.