Jumbo Editorial Team
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has unveiled its plan to build an underwater tunnel inside the Clifton Aquarium to allow visitors to walk through the water tank and enjoy marine life up closely.
The decision has come at a time when the KMC has planned to reopen the city’s largest public aquarium shortly. The Clifton Aquarium has remained closed for the last six years as authorities struggled to allocate funds to run it.
“The KMC has set aside Rs50 million in its budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year for renovation of the aquarium. However, the construction of the underwater tunnel would cost at least Rs300 million. There are two options for us. We could either seek funds from the government or turn it into a joint venture with a private party,” the Corporation’s Director General for Parks and Horticulture, Niaz Soomro, was quoted as saying.
He agreed that besides the construction of the underwater tunnel, the Clifton Aquarium, built in the 1960s, was also in dire need of renovation.
“We have decided to remodel it like other international aquariums, which have underwater tunnels. We intend to have the maximum possible number of fish species,” the KMC official disclosed.
Meanwhile the Head of KMC’s Enterprise and Investment Promotion department, Shoaib Waqar, reckoned that the aquarium was more likely to be be rebuilt in a public-private partnership.
“We still need to work on the prefeasibility study. The location is very lucrative. We may also let them have a banquet hall and a food court. The city administration is looking towards recovering the initial investment in up to 10 years,” he remarked, hoping that private investors will be interested in the venture.
The KMC has been actively trying to improve recreational facilities available for the inhabitants of the metropolis.
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