THE Emperor Valley Zoo says it was not properly consulted on the $56 million upgrade to the facility by the Agriculture Ministry.
It agrees with outraged members of the public that there is no need for a cinema and bar, among other things, at the zoo, when many of the animals’ enclosures are in dire need of upgrades.
Proposed upgrades to the facility – all for visitors, not the animals – were first announced in 2019. These include a cinema/theatre, ice cream parlour, cutters bar, restaurant, exhibition centre, conference/meeting rooms, offices, an information centre, shops, kiosks, an amphitheatre and a play area for children.
In May, Newsday broke the story that the budget for the expansion project is $56 million excluding VAT. The exact figure provided by the Urban Development Corporation's (Udecott) corporate communications department was $56,265,878.14. Udecott is the contractor for the project, set to be completed by 2025.
[caption id="attachment_1114225" align="alignnone" width="606"] The earliest, publicly available sketch/artist interpretation of what the Discovery Centre at the Emperor Valley Zoo will look like. - Photo via 2014 PSIP.[/caption]
The corporation said the building will have two stories, with each floor having an area of 8,550 square feet.
It added that the discovery building will be designed in the shape of a butterfly.
Construction is ongoing and the building is north of the Queen's Park Savannah and west of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
A multi-storey car park will also be built.
Many people have since questioned the expansion, saying a lot of the additional features are unnecessary. An online petition to halt the project has more than 30,000 signatures.
On Udecott's website, it says this was phase four of the zoo’s expansion, adding that phases one-three were done through the now-dissolved Tourism Development Corporation.
The zoo's website – built in 2009 – has not been updated since 2016. None of the tabs on the website works. They include sections like About Us, Education, Conservation, Volunteer Program (sic) and Contact Information.
'We never asked for those things'
Zoo consultant John Seyjagat told Newsday that around 2003, the zoo contacted an engineering company and architectural team from the US, which did a master plan for the expansion.
“It had phases. So phase one was the flamingo enclosures, two was the South American component, three was the African exhibit, four was other birds and small mammals, and five was an education centre.”
Recalling that the zoo was previously under the Tourism Ministry, he said the plan was handed over to that ministry and got approval.
“When the zoo was transferred to the Agriculture Ministry, that ministry said, ‘Well, listen. What you need to do is the most expensive part of the upgrades first, and then you can focus on the others.’”
The zoo was told the education centre would be a revenue-driver, and that money could then be used to upgrade the animals’ enclosures.
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