The Turkish firm Ronesans Holding has selected the American company ICM as subcontractor for the Belgrade Aquarium at the Ušće complex. Promoted as a scientific and educational facility linked to the Natural History Museum, the project raises doubts due to ICM's expertise in commercial aquariums for malls and parks, several of which have suffered serious incidents. Construction, delayed by public opposition, still targets August 2027 completion.
The Belgrade Aquarium is part of a 90-million-euro mixed-use development at the Ušće complex, envisioned as a cultural and educational institution emphasizing research and nature conservation. Construction, originally slated to start in February, has been halted by protests, though Ronesans Holding insists the August 2027 deadline remains unchanged.
Ronesans, the main contractor for the turnkey project, has engaged U.S.-based ICM—which has over 30 years of experience building aquariums worldwide, primarily in commercial settings like shopping malls and amusement parks—for the aquarium and pool design. Željko Čabarkapa of Ronesans told investigators that discussions continue with potential subcontractors, prioritizing Serbian firms. ICM's portfolio spans Asia, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East, including public aquariums in Valencia, Doha, and Houston. While its website mentions education and conservation, its projects are tourist-oriented, such as Lotte World Aquarium in Hanoi (Southeast Asia's largest curved acrylic window) and Cambodia's Angkor Wildlife & Aquarium (with ties to the Institute for Tropical Biology).
However, ICM's facilities have faced significant issues. In 2022, the Aquadom in Berlin's Radisson Collection hotel—built by ICM in 2003 for 12.8 million euros—ruptured, releasing one million liters of water, killing nearly all 1,500 tropical fish, and injuring two people slightly; Berlin's mayor dubbed it a 'real tsunami,' with investigations citing possible material fatigue but no definitive cause by October 2023.
In May 2014, over 3,000 fish from more than 30 species died at Aqua Dream in Casablanca's Morocco Mall due to a failed oxygen pump. Moscow's Aviapark mall housed a 23-meter aquarium—once a Guinness World Record holder—that cracked in July 2019, causing leakage (later called seal replacement). The Oceania mall aquarium in Moscow ruptured twice, including shortly after a 2018 renovation, with water gushing under high pressure.
Ronesans employs its Dutch subsidiary Ballast Nedam for water-proximate subterranean works, drawing on projects like Switzerland's Gotthard Base Tunnel. Serbia, lacking local saltwater aquarium expertise, plans to tender for maintenance if ICM does not provide it. Annual operating costs for such facilities reach millions of euros, prompting concerns over long-term sustainability in a landlocked country.
