BEIRUT, June 13 (Xinhua) -- A public park and cultural center will be built on the destroyed old train station in Beirut, according to a new project unveiled by Lebanese senior officials at a press conference on Monday.

       Caretaker Culture Minister Wissam Mortada, caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, and Ziad Nasr, chair of the board of the Railway and Public Transportation Authority, unveiled the project to transform 10,000 square meters of the old Beirut train station in Mar Mikhael, near the Port of Beirut, into a park with a museum and an artist workshop as well as exhibition space.

       The museum will present archeological items alongside Lebanon's industrial heritage, the local news platform L'Orient Today reported.

       Mortada told reporters that the project will take about a year to complete. The new public space will be a place of cultural entertainment for local people, he said, adding that "we (also) want the station to play its functional role later to receive all visitors."