Ambitious plans for the future of the Maze Prison site that feature a sports stadium and a conflict-transformation centre will be unveiled today.
The 360-acre plot near Lisburn, Co Antrim, will also feature a cinema, industrial zone, restaurants and parkland.
The focal point of the plans will be a 42,000-seater multisports stadium, which could stage football matches as part of the 2012 London Olympics.
The stadium question has generated controversy, with some politicians arguing it should be in Belfast, but the British government has warned there is no alternative plan for the facility.
The conflict-transformation centre was critical to ensuring republican backing for the Maze proposals and will see the preservation of the prison's hospital wing, where ten hunger strikers died in 1981.
It is understood the project will also include a 5,000-seat indoor arena, a rural excellence and equestrian zone, featuring an international exhibition centre and showgrounds and dozens of new homes.
A new junction and link road to the site will also be incorporated into the proposals in a bid to overcome reservations about the location of the site. Proposals have also been drafted for a rail link and park-and-ride system close to the stadium, which it is hoped will open in 2010.
PA