Egypt to open largest antique reproductions factory to date

Egypt is preparing to open the first, and largest, factory of archaeological reproductions in the Middle East. It is speculated that it will be ready by early 2021under the supervision of the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled El Anany. This will be a big competition for the Chinese replica factories, which are described as "poor replicas". 

Archaeologist Magdy Shaker stressed the need to prevent Chinese antique reproduction to ensure the property rights of Egypt, adding that the Chinese products are of poor quality but cheap, making them attractive. This controversy with China is due to the fact that in 2014 Egypt protested to UNESCO about the construction of a replica of the Giza Sphinx in China. This 80 metre long and 30 metre wide replica in a cultural park in Hebei offended Egypt because it caused a huge impact by receiving large numbers of tourists. Although the park had claimed that it was created for temporary use as a stage for films and series, they decided to remove it so as not to further escalate the conflict.

The factory was designed on the basis that it had a replica site, but was produced in small quantities, something that would not happen in a large factory. Furthermore, the intention is to monopolise this industry in Egypt by placing the shops in tourist locations and increasing the volume of sales. Quality controls will also be set up in the more than 3,000 factories in Saqqara and Luxor.

45 specialist artists will be contracted to make replicas based on original artefacts. The factory will include material to do the work manually or also mechanically, including a wide variety of types of material. Such as, for example, wood.

They will include a bar code, all antique replicas will be marked with a seal of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and certified as replicas.