A new, 28m euro (£18.9m) interpretative centre is to be built at the Cliffs of Mohar in west Clare, Ireland, nearly 15 years after the development was first proposed.

Clare County Council has given the go-ahead to the visitor centre, which should be open to the publicl by early 2007.

The cliffs – which reach heights of more than 700ft (213m) in places – are located 35km from Ennis on the coast of west Clare.

Birds such as puffins, ravens and choughs use the site as a nesting ground and 750,000 people visit the cliffs each year.

The centre will be located on the site of an existing house which currently has tea rooms and a shop.

The new centre will be grassed over in order to minimise visual impact. Temporary facilities will be provided until construction is complete.

The new centre will also host a café, restaurant, exhibition centre and multimedia presentation to enable visitors to enjoy the cliffs experience indoors.

Cork construction company Rohcon has been awarded the construction contract for the centre. It is being part-funded by Failte Ireland, which has provided 10m euro (£6.78m) towards the project – the largest single grant ever given to a tourism project.

The remainder of money will be provided by the European Investment Bank. John O’Donoghue, minister for arts, sports and tourism, said: “We’re hoping the cliffs project has the capacity to create a lot of spin-off jobs in the local area.” Details: www.clare.ie