Bibliotheca Alexandria complex was officially inaugurated on 16 October 2002. The current Library of Alexandria was designed by a Norwegian architect and cost about $200 million. In 2010, the library received a donation of 500,000 books from the National Library of France.
The library has shelf space for eight million books, with the main reading room covering 70,000 square meters. The ancient library of Alexandria held the largest collection of manuscripts in the world and was a great center of learning for 600 years until it burned down in the 3rd century.