RIVER Safari, said to be Asia’s first river-themed wildlife park, will open its doors to the public in a soft opening on April 3.
Built at a cost of S$160 million (US$128 million), the 12-hectare park features over 150 plant species and 300 animal species in eight river habitats including the Mississippi, Nile and Amazon rivers.
The giant panda forest, home to pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia, was opened late last year as a preview and will be one of the new park’s main attractions. Riverboat rides and other exhibits will be opened at a later date.
While the Marine Life Park in Resorts World Sentosa features the world’s largest oceanarium, the Amazon Flooded Forest in River Safari is described as the world’s largest freshwater aquarium.
Director of exhibit design and development at the River Safari, Cham Tud Yinn, said: “This (River Safari) is the best platform for us to show the plight of this environment, and how fragile freshwater systems and animals are. We hope people can learn how to care and conserve these rare endangered animals.”
Entrance fees during the soft opening phase are S$25 for adults, S$16 for children between three and 12 years old, and S$12.50 for senior citizens above 60 years of age. The park opens daily from 09.00 to 18.00.
The current giant panda preview, for which visitors pay a top-up fee on top of the price of a Singapore Zoo admission ticket, will end on March 31. Visitors will only be able to view the pandas via River Safari from April 3 onwards.
The opening of River Safari, which is situated at Mandai between the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, is part of the Singapore government’s plan to develop the Mandai area as a nature tourism hub (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 29, 2012).
