Lyall Bay Aquarium plans downsized

Plans for the $36 million New Zealand Ocean Exploration Centre in the Wellington suburb of Lyall Bay have been downsized.

The Wellington Marine Conservation Trust’s ambitious plans for the three-storey aquarium at the disused Maranui depot site were presented to the Wellington City Council last year.

It featured an 8-metre-high kelp forest and a walk-through whale skeleton among the planned exhibits.

But, in a news submission being presented to the Council's draft annual plan, the Trust says it now has a scaled-back project costing "a more modest and achievable" sum of about $15 million.

The decision to downsize was made after it became clear it would be too difficult to raise the funds, particularly the $17 million wanted from the New Zealand Government.

Wellington Marine Conservation Trust Chairman Dr Victor Anderlini recently explained that the scaled-back project would be more manageable and would allow the project to get under way sooner.

Anderlini stated "let's get it started ... then it can grow," referring to a revised design for a single-storey attraction.

Plans now include a smaller kelp forest and an outdoor sanctuary for little blue penguins while a walk-through whale skeleton would not be a permanent feature, but might be included in a changing exhibition space.

Trust Director Judy Hutt said she was "hoping like mad" that space could still be found in the budget for a jellyfish tunnel.

The smaller project would be more manageable, and would fill a gap in the natural attraction market in Wellington, which had nothing celebrating the ocean, Hutt explained, adding "it's smaller, it's manageable and it's Wellington-sized."

The project is contingent on Council backing, in order to get the buy-in required from the Crown and social backers. 

22nd March 2013 - $36 MILLION LYALL BAY AQUARIUM PLANS REVEALED