Oceanarium to come up in Alibag even as Taraporewala Aquarium redevelopment remains uncertain

Prashant Naik, president of the Alibag Municipal Council, said the ₹60-crore project, which received a grant under the government’s Special Grant Scheme for Unique and Special Projects in 2024, would comprise five zones and was designed to offer visitors “an engaging and immersive aquatic experience”

MUMBAI: While there is no sign of the city’s iconic Taraporewala Aquarium being redeveloped anytime soon, an oceanarium is set to come up in Alibag, about 100 km away from Mumbai. Work is underway on the project, which is being executed by the Alibag Municipal Council, and likely to be completed by the middle of next year, after which it will open for the public. The oceanarium is expected to become a major attraction for tourists in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Oceanarium to come up in Alibag even as Taraporewala Aquarium redevelopment remains uncertain

Confirming the development, Prashant Naik, president of the Alibag Municipal Council, said the ₹60-crore project, which received a grant under the government’s Special Grant Scheme for Unique and Special Projects in 2024, would comprise five zones and was designed to offer visitors “an engaging and immersive aquatic experience”.

After the artificial waterfall at the entrance and in the reception area, the first zone will house an aquatic animal exhibit, with animals displayed in a zigzag layout. It will also feature a large rainforest-themed vivarium and a touch pool, where visitors can get a closer look at aquatic life.

The second zone features a 13-metre-long glass tunnel offering visitors an immersive underwater viewing experience. The tunnel, which people can walk through, is designed seamlessly without joints and will allow visitors to view fish swimming around them. The zone will also include cylindrical tanks housing jellyfish.

A senior IAS officer said that Alibag lacked tourist attractions apart from beaches and water sports. “The oceanarium will add to the town’s beauty, and even children from Mumbai can visit it since there is no sign of an aquarium taking shape in Mumbai,” he said.

Mumbai’s Taraporewala Aquarium, a vintage tourist attraction along Marine Drive, was shut during Covid-19. In 2022, after the pandemic, officials found that the ground-plus-three-storeyed building had become weak and dilapidated due to the road-digging work for the Mumbai Coastal Road project.

Apart from the aquarium, the 4,369.05 square-metre Marine Drive plot on which it stands, has two other buildings—one that houses the office of the commissioner of fisheries and a structure that previously held a water filtration system and canteen. When contacted, minister for fisheries Nitesh Rane claimed that the process to redevelop the aquarium was almost finalised, and a consultant would be appointed by January 2027.