Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman has announced that the Egyptian government will pay for restoring and repairing the Italian Consulate after a car bombing there.

"It is considered an important historical building, to say nothing of the relationships of friendship that join Egypt and Italy," Badr Abdel Atty said in a statement.

The blast early Saturday heavily damaged several floors of the Italian Consulate building, leaving a gaping hole.

The bombing, claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, killed one person and injured ten.