Plans are in the works to bring a Guggenheim museum to Wales as early as 2019 in a bid to replicate the success that came from opening one in Bilbao, Spain.

In 2012 the Guggenheim in Bilbao helped generate €294.6m (£252.2m, US$380.2m) in GDP for the country.

The predicted opening date of 2019 or 2020 would coincide with the current timetable for the electrification of the south Wales rail line. Swansea, Cardiff and Pembrokeshire have been suggested as potential locations.

The Guggenheim currently has galleries in Bilbao, Berlin, Venice and New York and now a number of influential figures have stated their belief that Wales should join the list.

Former MP Adam Price, said the idea came about after a plan last year to open a Guggenheim in Helsinki, Finland fell through.

Other prominent figures supporting the proposal include Lord Dafydd Wigley and Yvette Vaughan-Jones, chief executive of the UK body Visiting Arts.

Funding and cost for the museum has not yet been determined but Price believes that there are "one or two Welsh billionaires out there" looking for a legacy such as the Guggenheim Wales.