A museum dedicated to the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela, is to be given a multi-million rand renovation, restoring the facility to its former glory after it fell into a state of disrepair over the past decade.

With a budget of around R16m (US$1.4m, €1.1m, £900,000), the plans for Qunu, South Africa, will see the Nelson Mandela Museum in amphitheatre roof restored at its youth and heritage centre, while exhibits will be upgraded and new security features installed. Facilities for international visitors will also be improved, through means of additional languages for audio guides and improved signage. The facility – which also offers accommodation and conference facilities – will gain new chalets as part of the plans.

The museum has just finished the R64m (US$5.6m, €4.5m, £3.6m) renovation of its conferencing facility, the Bhunga Building in Mthatha, which can hold around 40 delegates at a time.

Nokuzola Tetani, the museum's marketing and communications manager, said the museum had over the past year seen a spike in the number of international visitors, with numbers tripling since Mandela’s death in December last year. The museum documents the life of Mandela using audio snippets from his book Long Walk to Freedom to tell his story.