Singapore gets NEW animal attraction

SINGAPORE will get another top-drawer tourist attraction in 2011, when a $140 million river safari theme park will be completed.
To be carved out of the same 89-hectare Mandai area which houses the Zoo and Night Safari, the park, the first of its kind in Asia, will have some new species of wildlife, boat rides and special displays of freshwater habitats.

Few other details were released yesterday - the park has not even been named yet - but it is understood that some of the 4,000 animals in the Zoo and Night Safari's collection, mostly aquatic animals like manatees and fish, will be moved there.

Successful river theme parks elsewhere, such as Florida's Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, give visitors the chance to view marine life through cruises on glass-bottomed boats, as well as animal exhibits and fun rides.

Yesterday, Ms Fanny Lai, the group chief executive officer of Wildlife Reserves, which will run the new park in addition to the Zoo and Night Safari, said the attraction will give visitors a chance to get up close and personal with the animals. This will help create a 'greater awareness of freshwater habitat conservation', she said.

She added that the company began working on the idea of a new park two years ago, and that it is now an 'opportune time' to embark on it.

Though Singapore is now grappling with a drop in tourism as economies the world over reel from the effects of a recession, observers expect things to pick up by the time the new park is ready in 2011.

The river safari will make Mandai, already a must-visit destination for tourists and Singaporeans alike, even more popular: The Zoo and Night Safari pulled in 1.6 million and 1.1 million visitors, respectively, last year.

The new park is expected to draw at least 750,000 more, said Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the operator of all three attractions.

Tourism players and Singaporeans alike were excited by the prospect of a new park.

Royal Plaza on Scotts' general manager Patrick Fiat said: 'The more, the merrier. These new attractions will allow tourists to spend more time here, or come again because they didn't manage to visit something the first time round.'

Added taxi driver Ng Seng Nguan, 52: 'It will cater to different people and give more variety, which is more interesting.'

Visit Singapore Today.