A new €7.5m (US$8.6m, £6.6m) national science and visitor centre is planned for Athlone, Ireland, with construction set to begin in 2020.

Located on the site of a decommissioned radio transmitter station formerly owned by broadcaster RTÉ, the new centre will be able to welcome up to 100,000 visitors a year and will focus on STEM subjects.

It will also include a broadcasting studio for use by students, a training and education initiative and a large part of the RTÉ digital archive.

"It is really about combining the heritage of the old wireless theme at the fabulous Marconi transmitter hall with the new wireless initiatives of tomorrow’s world in a new future lab science centre," said RTÉ midlands correspondent Ciarán Mullooly.

Irish tourism body Fáilte Ireland has provided €200,000 (US$228,154, £176,894) funding under its grants scheme for large tourism projects to the proposed Marconi Centre, while other backers include IDA Ireland, RTÉ and Swedish tech firm Ericsson.

The project is led by accountant Alan Shaw, a former director of accountancy firm RBK. He said: "This project represents an important part of Ireland’s rich heritage and history. We now need to unlock the doors and keep it a secret no more."