Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Aquaria KLCC opened on 20 August 2005 beneath the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, one of Southeast Asia's pioneering oceanariums. Conceived and wholly owned by Malaysian company Aquawalk Sdn Bhd and designed by New Zealand aquarium specialists Marinescape, the two-level, 60,000-square-foot facility is best known for its 90-metre underwater tunnel, the Living Ocean, where sand tiger sharks and giant rays pass overhead. Today it houses more than 5,000 land and aquatic animals from over 250 species, arranged as a journey from Malaysian highland streams down to the open ocean.
2002
Aquawalk Sdn Bhd is incorporated to develop a world-class oceanarium for the Kuala Lumpur City Centre precinct, commissioning New Zealand-based aquarium specialists Marinescape to design the facility.
2003
Construction begins two levels below the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, itself part of the second phase of the KLCC development beside the Petronas Twin Towers.
June 2005
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre opens, completing the building that houses the oceanarium in its concourse levels.
20 August 2005
Aquaria KLCC opens to the public with its signature 90-metre underwater tunnel, at the time among the longest in Southeast Asia, presenting marine life from Malaysia and around the world.
The Living Ocean tunnel
A 90-metre transparent walkway through the main oceanarium tank, with a moving travelator, where sand tiger sharks, giant stingrays, and groupers swim overhead.
Ecosystem journey layout
Exhibits are sequenced like a river's course, from Malaysian jungle streams and flooded forests through coastal mangroves and coral reefs to the open ocean.
Marinescape engineering
The tanks and acrylic tunnel were engineered by Marinescape of New Zealand, specialists behind walk-through aquariums worldwide, fitted into an underground footprint beneath a working convention centre.
Living collection
More than 5,000 land and aquatic animals from over 250 species, including sharks the aquarium has kept since opening alongside otters, water rats, and reptiles in the land-based zones.
Aquaria KLCC opened to the public on 20 August 2005, two months after the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre above it. Construction had begun in 2003.
It was initiated, developed, and is wholly owned by Malaysian company Aquawalk Sdn Bhd, incorporated in 2002, with the aquarium systems designed by New Zealand-based specialists Marinescape.
The Living Ocean tunnel is 90 metres (about 300 feet) long and runs through the main tank, with a travelator so visitors can glide beneath sand tiger sharks and giant rays. It was among the longest aquarium tunnels in Southeast Asia when it opened in 2005.
The oceanarium houses more than 5,000 land and aquatic animals from over 250 species across two levels and roughly 60,000 square feet, arranged as a journey from Malaysian highland streams to the open ocean.
It was one of the region's pioneering large-scale oceanariums when it opened in 2005 and remains Kuala Lumpur's flagship aquarium, distinguished by being built underground beneath the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre rather than as a standalone building.
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