Swansea Council and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales organisation tabled a joint bid for �10.69m in National Lottery cash to re-open the attraction on the city's waterfront.

Peter Black AM: 'Real boost to the city'

Peter Black, the Liberal Democrat AM for south west Wales, said: "This is a very important stepping stone for Swansea."

"If the National Museum and Galleries of Wales and the Council can successfully take this project forward to completion in 2005 then we will have a major cultural and tourism asset which will bring millions of pounds in revenue into the city."

The Welsh Industrial Museum was closed in Cardiff Bay two years ago.

When the Heritage Lottery Fund postponed an announcement on the bid in January to look at the funding structure, plans were thrown in to doubt.

Fund managers have agreed to an initial sum of �425,000 to develop the project to its next stage.

Big boost

The attraction of the maritime museum to Swansea's growing marina developments would mean a big boost for council officials in the city.

They feel their waterfront asset has been overlooked in favour of the capital's new bay project which the museum left in 1998.

It is seen as the centrepiece of a multi-million pound facelift for the city's waterfront.

Earlier in the year, lottery organisers said they recognised that Swansea offered an ideal location for a museum and the area had a great deal of popular support.

Collection moved

The decision to close the old museum before a new location was found prompted anger.

In June 1999, the Welsh Office rejected criticism of the demolition in a damning report by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee

The maritime museum had hosted a number of exhibitions, including a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the car in Wales.

It held permanent exhibits illustrating the history of Wales's industrial docklands and coal mining in the Valleys.

The collection has been housed at Nantgarw near Cardiff since the closure.