Imagine going to Manila Bay and coming face-to-face with a shark or even a school of fierce barracudas.
Come February, this awesome scene will be experienced by Filipino adults and children alike with the completion of the Manila Ocean Park just behind the Quirino Grandstand at the Rizal Park.
The P1-billion project of Singaporean and Malaysian investors is the first world-class marine park to adopt a “fusion concept,” according to Manila Ocean Park president Lim Chee Yong. He said the concept entailed bringing together an oceanarium, a mall, a boutique hotel, a restaurant row and open marine habitats — where marine enthusiasts could learn to swim and dive with the fishes.
“The park will house the first and largest aquarium facility in the Philippines,” Lim announced during a walking tour with the media at the site.He said that both the oceanarium and the open marine habitats would contain 12,000 cubic meters of seawater featuring 300 marine species indigenous to the Philippines and Southeast Asia.Lim proudly said that the Manila Ocean Park would be among the most advanced ocean parks in Asia — with an area larger than the famous Sentosa Oceanarium in Singapore.Lim said the project would be composed of three phases, with the oceanarium as the first phase. It was completed and opened to the public last month.
“The second phase, which includes the marine-themed mall and the hotel, and the third phase, the open marine habitats, would be completed next February,” Lim said.