Design work on an AUS$50m (US$46.3m, €33.5m, £27.5m) aquarium based on the Great Barrier Reef has commenced.

Located in the Far North Queensland region of Australia, Cairns Aquarium will give visitors the chance to experience animals, plants and fish found only in the bordering Great Barrier Reef and surrounding rainforests.

Developers Cairns Aquarium & Reef Research Centre Ltd have overcome a design issue involving car park spaces to enable the project to go ahead.

The company expects the aquarium to attract 500,000 visitors per year. It will be the first part of a wider government initiative to revitalise the region and take advantage of a rapidly growing Chinese tourism market.

The 10,000sqm (107,639sq ft) attraction will be designed by Peddle Thorp Architects in association with Architects Ellick and Partners, and is scheduled to open in July 2016.

Also serving as a research centre, dedicated research and development programmes will be launched to help vulnerable and protected species, and the aquarium will have a permanent team of experienced scientists and researchers.