The $8 million state government project is in the early planning stages, with a recent meeting of key stakeholders discussing how the works will proceed.

Stages one and two of the project are expected to be completed by 2019.

Meanwhile, traditional owners and the state government are awaiting a decision soon on whether Budj Bim will be put forward by the federal government for a World Heritage nomination with UNESCO.

The Victorian Department of Aboriginal Affairs said the announcement is expected “in early 2017”.

Budj Bim dates back more than 6600 years and is considered one of the world’s first engineering projects, predating the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge.

The area is also one of Australia's oldest and largest aquaculture systems and is evidence of a large, settled Aboriginal community systematically farming and smoking eels for food and trade, dispelling the myth that Australia's first people were all nomadic.

The $8 million project aims to protect and promote the remains of Budj Bim.

It will include the construction of an interpretive centre, with improved access, amenities and signage. 

Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation are working with local councils and the state government on the project.

The Budj Bim master plan covers Lake Condah, the Condah Mission, Mt Eccles, Kurtonitj wetland, the Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area, and Convincing Ground at Allestree. 

Acting Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gavin Jennings said it was an important area that deserved better recognition.

“Budj Bim is a special place,” Mr Jennings said.

“It has great archaeological significance and is somewhere that all Victorians should be proud of.

“Self-determination for Aboriginal Victorians is important to us and that is why we have provided $8 million so Aboriginal people can take control of their cultural heritage.”