The Clifton Fish Aquarium had been a popular recreational site among families, who frequented the facility in droves each year to observe a wide variety of sea creatures. It provided a source of entertainment to the citizenry, and generated much needed revenue for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) through ticket sales. However, in 1998, the building’s structure began to wither away due to constant exposure to moisture from the sea located nearby.
Fearing further demolition, KMC decided to permanently close the facility, relocating the aquatic animals to the Karachi Zoo and the ocean. While the initial plan was to reopen the facility soon after upgradation, the aquarium remains closed since then.
Even though multiple failed attempts have been made at reconstructing the facility, hope was renewed in February of 2022, when the World Bank offered its support for rebuilding it. The workers started work on the roof of the aquarium only to abandon it midway. Now a massive crater exists at the rooftop of the building.
In order to confirm the veracity of the claims made by KMC, Project Director of CLICK (Competitive and Livable City of Karachi), Asif Jan Siddiqi said that CLICK was only obliged to provide funds for projects initiated by the local government. “The completion of on-ground reconstruction work is the responsibility of the KMC not CLICK,” he said.
According to sources privy to the information, the project of reconstruction of the Clifton Fish Aquarium had been initiated by two different governments in the past, neither of whom bothered ensuring its completion. Consequently, the rebuild which was started in 2006, was officially discontinued in 2009.
While other projects like Baghe Ibne Qasim were ready in two years, the Clifton Fish Aquarium only had its outer body ready, with basic interior structures, including electrical and filtration networks, missing.