Malta’s first national aquarium in Qawra should be completed in the first three months of next year, Tourism Minister Mario de Marco said during a visit this morning.

The €15.6 million 26-tank aquarium is being funded through EU funds (€8 million) and private investment.

The aquarium area will be 20,000 square metres with the biggest tank having a volume of 330 cubic metres. A tunnel people can walk through will pass through this tank.

The aquarium will house Mediterranean and tropical fish including grouper, sea bass, rays, sea bream, blacktip sharks, barracudas, clown fish and angel fish.

Dr de Marco said that Malta’s aquarium will be unique in the sense that it is on the coast when such aquariums are usually in land or in ports.

The area will also include diving facilities for schools and a car park which can take up to 150 cars. Both the diving facilities and the car park are complete. The tanks will be complete by the end of summer. Work would then focus on the pedestrian and upper areas, which will include a playground and a promenade.

A submarine and a shipwreck one can walk through are also being recreated.

The site of the aquarium is only a few metres away from a natural diving site. A total 70,000 tourists come to Malta to dive annually.