With a total investment of almost 9.0 million euro, of which 5.5 million euro was contributed by the EEA EFTA states, the project's objective was to construct a state-of-the-art sea water aquarium designed for research, educational and tourism purposes. The aquarium will house up to 4,000 marine organisms that are visible to the public through 300 square metres of glass or other transparent materials.
The aquarium is administrated by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, and it is located in Gournes, just outside the city of Herakleion. For more information on the project, please visit the aquarium's webpage.
Present at the official opening were the Minister of Development, Mr. Sioufas, the Minister of Mercantile Marine, Mr. Kefalogiannis and the Norwegian Honorary Consul Mr. Metaxas representing the donor states of the EEA Financial Mechanism.