The University of Otago has set aside $500,000 to develop designs and assess options for a new aquarium, property services director Barry MacKay says.
Last June, the university announced it would be demolishing its aquarium building in Portobello after it was earlier abandoned because it was found to meet less than 15% of the new-building standard for earthquake strength.
The university allocated the $500,000 to develop a new aquarium and teaching facility when it approved the project ''in principal'' earlier this year, Mr MacKay said.
''[The] project development funding was approved to develop options and complete an options assessment and preliminary design work,'' Mr MacKay said.
The project, which is part of the university's $358 million priority development plan, was still in its ''early stages'', meaning the overall budget and design for the building was yet to be settled on, he said''The process is under way to appoint a specialist lead consultant to take the design for the project forward.''
It was also yet to be decided if the facility would be built in town or at Portobello at the site of the old aquarium.
''Both options are to be thoroughly explored,'' he said.
The project could be submitted for full approval next year and the construction programme would depend on the option selected by the university council.
The university is still in the early stages of its $50 million to $100 million dental school upgrade project.
After having appointed a project management consultancy and lead architectural team, it is now gathering information and talking to ''stakeholders'' to inform the final design of the project.
The project should be submitted for full approval in mid-2014, and, as with the aquarium, the construction schedule will depend on which option the university council decides on.
