Winter seems to have snuck into Cape Town and has made itself very comfortable! That said, the construction of our new large-scale exhibit is pressing ahead, albeit with a bit of hindrance from the weather.

Opening remains on schedule for December 2014.

The construction site is divided into sections:

Update on section one (the area directly between the One&Only Hotel and the Aquarium, facing the sea): All the roof and deck slabs have been cast and the electrical conduits have been installed. Construction has begun on the brickwork for the outer wall.

Update on section two (the actual exhibit and surrounding building): The only walls that have not been cast are those of the main window and the tunnel. These are scheduled for completion by the end of July as the acrylic windows are scheduled to be delivered from Italy at the beginning of August.

This is what the building site looks like at the moment. A lot has happened to the once-bare parking lot! Photo by Mike de Maine

The exhibit walls are coming along nicely. Photo by Renée Leeuwner

The contractors had to use shotgun blasts to split some of the rock. This was done to ensure that the storm water and life-support pipe trench could be dug down to the required level. Photo by Mike de Maine

Speaking of life-support systems – our workshop has begun assembling the pipework for this. Here Peter Mhlawuli shows how big one elbow piece is. Photo by Renée Leeuwner

But when one of the big elbows and one that we use regularly in our smaller displays are placed together, the comparison is startling (Vincent Calder is keeping an eye on everything). Photo by Renée Leeuwner

The Aquarium remains open and operational during the construction of our new exhibit. Please visit us every day between 9.30am and 6pm. Pedestrian access remains unhindered.

See also:

• Construction continues on our new exhibit
• Aquarium expansion: month three
• Aquarium expansion: month two
• Aquarium expansion: month one

Stay in touch: for daily Aquarium updates, follow us on Twitter (@2OceansAquarium) and become a fan on Facebook.