The Biota aquarium project, part of a£1.5 billion regeneration scheme, has been designed by Sir Terry Farrell and is overseen by Zoological Society of London. It will reportedly be the size of five football pitches.

It will house sections depicting the terrestrial and marine ecosystems of the Amazon, the British Isles, the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. The reef will lie centre-stage in the Indo-Pacific house.

Animal species will include turtles, fish, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds, housed in large aquatic tanks and day-lit glass domes.