A €15.5 million national aquarium is expected to be completed in Qawra by the end of next year. It will contain 26 water tanks displaying a variety of fish.

An official ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction works was held this afternoon. Excavation works started last month.

The largest tank will tunnel-shaped and be some 12 metres in diameter, to allow people to walk through it and see two sharks. Experienced divers may also be allowed to swim with the sharks.

The aquarium will form part of a marine park that would be run by private investors Marine Aquatic Limited.

The investor, made of partners Ebcon, Elbros and Marinescape, will be forking out €9 million of the investment after winning a government tender to design and build the project. The investor will also run and maintain the aquarium for the next 50 years under a government concession.

The marine park spans over 20,000 metres square and will include the aquarium, a public garden and a car park among.

The aquarium itself will be spread over 3,200 meters square and the 26 tanks will take about 400 cubic metres of water.

The public will walk into the ground floor of the aquarium, to be shaped like a star fish, to a level where there will be restaurants and ticketing booths.

From there they will go downstairs to the water tanks.

The project will not impact public access to the popular beach in the Fra Ben area that will be connected to the promenade for easier access.

Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, said the project will be a tourism asset for the country.