The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has confirmed a grant of £5M to the National Maritime Museum’s project to develop a major new wing. This commitment from HLF, together with the substantial £20m gift from international shipping magnate and philanthropist Sammy Ofer KBE, announced in 2008, sets the project firmly on track to open in 2012, the year of the Museum’s 75th anniversary and the London Olympics.

The project includes an international standard special exhibitions gallery; state of the art library and archive facilities complemented by digital resources; and greatly enhanced visitor facilities.

Wesley Kerr, Chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund's London Committee, said: “Those who go down to the sea in ships have for millennia been central to our island story and this substantial Heritage Lottery Fund award will enable the National Maritime Museum to tell their and Britain’s story so much better, through swift access to magnificent archives and historic artefacts and through artfully designed new buildings which will welcome millions of visitors from Greenwich Park. This great Museum, at the heart of London’s most dramatic river prospect, already includes the world famous Greenwich Meridian and the fabulous Queen’s House; now it will be home to an array of cutting edge displays and facilities.”

Dr Kevin Fewster, NMM Director, said: “We are tremendously grateful to HLF for their support and today’s welcome news, building on Sammy Ofer’s donation, means all capital funding for the construction project is in place. The project signals a new chapter in the way the National Maritime Museum relates to its surroundings and to its visitors, creating greater cohesion between all our venues and the rest of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. With the help of the HLF we will be able to transform the experience we offer to the 2 million visitors from Britain and overseas who visit us each year. The project will also help to put the Museum at the forefront in staging major exhibitions, both nationally and internationally.”

The development is the largest capital project in the NMM’s history with a project build cost of £35m.

Site works begin in September 2009 and are scheduled for completion in 2012 in time for the London Olympics.