The Belgrade Aquarium, planned as a scientific and educational facility, faces scrutiny due to its subcontractor, the American firm ICM, which specializes in commercial aquariums. Turkish company Ronesans Holding, the main contractor, has selected ICM for the aquarium pools despite the project's emphasis on research and conservation. Past incidents at ICM-built aquariums raise questions about its suitability.
The Belgrade Aquarium project at Ušće is envisioned as a cultural and educational institution linked to the Natural History Museum, focusing on research and nature conservation rather than primarily entertainment. Valued at 90 million euros, construction was set to begin in February 2024 but has been delayed by citizen objections, with completion targeted for August 2027.
Ronesans Holding, awarded the turnkey contract, has subcontracted ICM, an American company with over 30 years of experience, for designing and building the pools. Željko Čabarkapa, a Ronesans representative, stated: “The only subcontractor that has been contracted thus far is the American company ICM. This is a company with over 30 years of experience in developing aquariums worldwide. This company has built public aquariums in Valencia, Doha, Houston, and many other cities globally.” Ronesans aims to involve more Serbian firms and uses its Dutch subsidiary Ballast Nedam for subterranean works near water, including projects like the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
ICM's portfolio includes aquariums in shopping malls and tourist sites across Asia, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East, with branches in Vietnam and Qatar. However, its projects have encountered issues. In 2020, the Aquadom in Berlin, built by ICM in 2003, ruptured, releasing one million liters of water and killing nearly all 1,500 tropical fish; Berlin's mayor called it a “real tsunami,” with possible material fatigue as the cause. The 12.8-million-euro structure's investigation closed in October 2023 without a definitive finding.
In May 2014, over 3,000 fish died in ICM's Aqua Dream at Morocco Mall in Casablanca due to a failed oxygen pump. The 23-meter Aviapark aquarium in Moscow, opened in 2014 and Guinness-recognized, developed a several-meter crack in July 2019, initially reported as leakage before being described as seal replacement. The Oceania aquarium in Moscow burst in 2018 and again shortly after reopening.
Positive examples include Lotte World Aquarium in Hanoi, featuring Southeast Asia's largest curved acrylic window, and Angkor Wildlife & Aquarium in Cambodia, which has an educational tie to the Institute of Tropical Biology. Serbia, lacking saltwater aquarium experts, will need to tender for maintenance if ICM does not handle it. Čabarkapa added: “Delaying the start of construction will not affect the final deadline set for project completion.”