The International Slavery Museum will cost around �10m

The International Slavery Museum will be housed on the third floor of the Merseyside Maritime Museum and replaces the Transatlantic Slavery Gallery.

The museum will play a key role in this year's 200th anniversary of the British Empire's abolition of the slave trade.

Liverpool was regarded as the principal slave port in Europe by the 1740s and the trade contributed to much of the city's wealth during the 18th Century.

'Fantastic city'

The grant for the new �10m museum - known as the ISM - was awarded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and follows on from the annual �250,000 revenue already pledged by the department.

Culture Minister David Lammy said: "This year provides the perfect opportunity for the ISM to take its stories to a new generation of visitors in this fantastic city.

"I hope people will be encouraged to remember those who suffered as a result of the slave trade, and to celebrate the efforts of all those who struggled for its abolition."

The ISM is being developed in two stages: the first section in the Maritime Museum is due to open on 23 August to coincide with the UNESCO International Slavery day.