Work has started on Cairns’ AU$50m (US$36.4m, €33.2m, £23.3m) aquarium and reef research centre, due for completion in 2017.

Marked with a visit by Australia’s Trade and Investment minister, Andrew Robb, construction is now underway on the site which was delayed by around six months due to a lack of parking spots and disagreements over a natural flying fox habitat, which the aquarium wanted to retain as an attraction.

Designed by Peddle Thorp Architects in association with Architects Ellick and Partners, the three-storey, 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft) development will be home to more than 5,000 animals endemic to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and surrounding rainforests.

The Cairns region attracts 4.8 million visitors annually, according to government statistics, generating AU$3.1bn (US$2.2bn, €2bn, £1.4bn) for the local economy. The aquarium will be touted as a top attraction for the region, and is the first public aquarium to be built in Australia in 17 years. Seen as a project of high importance, Austrade – the Australian government’s trade commission – helped fast-track the project through its Tourism Major Project Facilitation (TMPF) service.

“Adding to our stock of high-quality tourism infrastructure is fundamental if we are to continue to attract more than our share of international visitors and the Cairns Aquarium is an example of what the future can hold,” said Robb.

“The aquarium is a great example of an innovative Australian business creating the very best facilities to attract visitors from around the world.”