Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has said it is reviving ambitious US$150m (€136m, £97.8m) plans to develop what it says will be 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.

The site, which is protected by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, has more than 2,500 pieces of stonework from the sunken section of Alexandria, covering an area of around 25,000sq m (269,000sq ft) in the Alexandria Bay.

One of the most notable structures included is the Lighthouse of Alexandria on the Island of the Pharos – one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – which was submerged along with the rest of the city following a series of earthquakes in the Middle Ages.

The museum plan originally came about in 2008, when the government was looking at a way to prevent parts of the ancient monuments and relics being pilfered by thieves – who are selling to private collectors – and damaged by water pollution.

French architect Jacques Rougerie drew up plans for fibreglass tunnels which would connect new above-ground waterfront galleries to an underwater facility, where the antiquities would be visible in their sunken state. However, those plans were shelved in 2011, in the wake of the Egyptian Revolution.


Plans were originally devised in 2008

Several years later though, the plans have been revisited and look set to become a reality with the support of the country’s government and UNESCO. According to Youssef Khalifa, chair of the Central Administration of Lower Egypt Antiquities, the plans will be similar to Jacques Rougerie’s original plan, utilising an above-water exhibition space for recovered Alexandria relics and then an underwater tunnel taking visitors down to the 7m-deep (23ft) sea floor in the bay. There will also be submarine tours with glass observation windows to further explore the museum.

“The museum will reshape the Arab region, as it will be the first of its kind in the world,” said Khalifa speaking to Al-Monitor. “Undoubtedly it will revive tourism and boost the Egyptian economy after a long recession.”

The architects for the revived project have not yet been confirmed, Attractions Management has contacted the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities for confirmation.