New design for Taraporevala Aquarium to be unveiled soon

The new, 12-storey building will house an aquarium floor and main tank, restaurant, office space and parking for 140 vehicles

MUMBAI: The Taraporevala Aquarium, once a jewel of Mumbai’s waterfront and now a fading icon, will be reborn as a modern, multi-story complex – home to more than just exotic fish. A final design will be chosen soon, but, broadly, here’s the plan: The new, 12-storey building will house an aquarium floor measuring 6,500 sq m and main tank with the capacity of 3.5 million litres of water. It will also include a restaurant, office space for the state fisheries department, private offices that will be rented and parking space for 140 vehicles.

The Taraporevala Aquarium, a beautiful Art Deco building with soaring lines and aquatic motifs, was shut during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 (HT Photo)

The aquarium occupies a 4,393-sq m plot and the new structure will occupy 20,000 sq m of built-up space. Sources said a design will be chosen soon and the deadline for completion is two years from now.

The Taraporevala Aquarium, a beautiful Art Deco building with soaring lines and aquatic motifs, was shut during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It was never reopened as the 70-year-old structure was weakened by the blasting to build a tunnel for the Coastal Road. More than 500 aquatic species were shifted to aquariums elsewhere. This presented the state government with an opportunity to redevelop the aquarium. On Tuesday, a presentation of designs was made before fisheries and port development minister Nitesh Rane and officials.

“We are going to give Mumbai an international-level aquarium with a new multi-storey, state-of-the-art building with an iconic design. This will add to the beauty to the Marine Drive coastline. This is an over ₹300-crore project and we want to complete it in two years,” said Rane.