Cairns Aquarium

Mitchell Brandtman is proud to have worked on the Cairns Aquarium, the first aquarium to be built in Australia for 17 years.

The Cairns Aquarium has been developed to provide a world class venue for seeing and interacting with the incredible plants, animals and habitats found only in Australia’s Wet Tropics, a region which borders two World Heritage listed environments: The Daintree Rainforest and The Great Barrier Reef.

Senior Quantity Surveyor, Paul Burgess was appointed as Superintendent on this world class project which commenced in late 2015.

Fast Facts

• 1.8 million litre Aquarium holding a variety of fish including hammerhead sharks. 
• Australia largest deep reef habitat with acrylic panels approx. 10m in height x 8.5m wide, holding 300,000 litres
• 7500m² Aquarium anticipated to receive 700,000 visitors per year.
• A total of 71 exhibits
• Approx. 15,000 animals, fish, plants and other organisms from 10 different eco systems
• Approx. $45M build

Though the contracting parties were faced with many challenges delivering the project, including the impact of Cyclone Debbie, it was a fantastic opportunity to be part of the team working on such a unique project.

Contractor - FK Gardner & Sons 

Developer - Cairns Aquarium & Reef Research Centre P/L 

Superintendent - Mitchell Brandtman