Ancient Egyptian pharaoh's boat reassembled in real time at Grand Egyptian Museum

CAIRO (AP) — A boat belonging to an Egyptian pharaoh was put on display Tuesday in the Grand Egyptian Museum’s exhibition hall while being reassembled in real time.

The cedarwood boat, one of two that were found that belong to King Khufu, was pieced together starting Tuesday morning as dozens of visitors watched.

The assembly of the 42-meter (137-foot) -long vessel, which sits next to its already-assembled twin that has been on display, is expected to take around four years, according to Issa Zeidan, head of restoration at the Grand Egyptian Museum. It contains 1,650 wooden pieces.

King Khufu ruled ancient Egypt more than 4,500 years ago and built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

“You’re witnessing today one of the most important restoration projects in the 21st century,” said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, who attended the event.

The $1 billion museum, also known as GEM, was touted as the world’s largest when it was lavishly inaugurated last month. It's home to nearly 50,000 artifacts, including the collection of treasures from the tomb of the famed King Tutankhamun, which was discovered in 1922. The museum, located near the pyramids at the edge of Cairo, is expected to boost Egypt’s tourism revenues and help bolster its ailing economy.

The boat was one of two discovered in 1954, opposite the southern side of the Great Pyramid. The excavation of its wooden parts began in 2014, according to the museum’s website.

The exact purpose of the boats remains unclear, but experts believe they were either used to transport King Khufu’s body during his funeral or were meant to be used for his afterlife journey with the sun god Ra, according to the museum.

Archeologists prepare to reassemble the second solar boat of King Khufu, at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Archeologists measure an ancient wooden block as they prepare to reassemble the second solar boat of King Khufu, at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Archeologists carry an ancient wooden block as they reassemble the second solar boat of King Khufu, at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

People film archeologists as they reassemble the second solar boat of King Khufu, at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Visitors view the first solar boat of King Khufu, at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A consortium led by a Pakistani investment firm acquired a 75% stake in state-run Pakistan International Airlines on Tuesday during a televised auction, marking a major step in the government’s long-delayed effort to privatize the loss-making national carrier.

The Arif Habib consortium submitted a winning bid of 135 billion rupees ($482 million) for the majority shareholding in PIA, which was once regarded as among the region’s top airlines but has suffered decades of financial losses and mismanagement.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, speaking at the bidding ceremony, said the privatization process was transparent and competitive. He hoped that the new owners would help revive the airline.

The sale fulfills a long-standing demand by the International Monetary Fund, which has repeatedly urged Pakistan to privatize the airline as part of broader economic reforms tied to bailout programs.

The auction comes two months after PIA resumed direct flights to Europe following a decision by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to lift a four-year ban imposed over safety concerns. The ban was introduced in 2020, after 97 people were killed when a PIA aircraft crashed in Karachi.

Once seen as a model airline, PIA has deteriorated over the years due to political interference and chronic overstaffing. The airline employs about 300 workers per aircraft across its 32 fleet — one of the highest employee-to-aircraft ratios in the industry. Most airlines operate with fewer than 200 employees per aircraft, a common benchmark of productivity.

FILE - In this June 8, 2013 photo, a Pakistani International Airline plane takes off from Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

FILE - In this March 7, 2011 file photo, a Pakistan International Airlines passenger jet is parked on the tarmac at a military base in Makassar, Indonesia. (AP Photo, File)