Presidential candidate and Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Wednesday announced the re-opening of the New Manila Zoo with its soft opening on December 30, saying the redeveloped facility is comparable to the world-famous Singapore Zoo.
Moreno, standard-bearer of Aksyon Demokratiko, set the date following a visit Tuesday night with Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna at the nearly five-hectare facility, known as the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden.
According to officials overseeing the redevelopment of the zoo, “99.9 percent of the works” has already been completed and animals would be taken to their respective enclosures beginning next week.
“So beautiful! I’m really proud! It used to stink here. This is one for the books. It’s like you’re in Japan. It’s like you’re in Jurassic Park. I will assure you, even foreigners will come here,” Moreno gushed after a tour of the modernized facility.
“My grandmothers will be happy. Senior citizens, their grandchildren can be driven around. This size of the area is big,” he added.
The redeveloped facility will be a fulfillment of Moreno’s dream of competing with the world-famous Singapore Zoo, which has been a favorite attraction among local and foreign tourists.
Having undergone no major renovation since it opened in July, 1959, the new Manila Zoo now boasts of new and exciting facilities that include world-class animal enclosures—especially for Mali the elephant—that are surrounded by transparent glass where visitors can get up close to the animals.
Elevated viewing decks around the enclosures are also in place.
There is also the Animal Museum, Botanical Garden, and the Butterfly Garden with its own viewing loft, and separate enclosures for Filipino endemic animals and birds.
The enclosures and facilities are intersected by wide, elevated pathways where visitors can see the animals and other sights while going around the zoo.
Amenities include clean, spacious restrooms with stalls for persons with disabilities (PWDs), drinking fountains, souvenir shops, food stalls and a new parking area.
Benches are placed in strategic areas where visitors can take family pictures or group selfies, while additional benches are being put in place along the pathways so that people can take a rest and take additional pictures.
The facility is also well-lighted and night visitors will be treated to the attractions of several dancing fountains and mini-falls around the zoo’s lagoon.
The New Manila Zoo even has its own state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant.
“When they go around here, they think they are abroad. They didn’t think they were just in Manila. This is truly unique,” Moreno said.
But before the public can enjoy the unique experience of touring a truly world class zoo, Mayor Isko wanted the families of around 1,300 workers to be the VIP guests for the soft opening as a tribute to their hard work and ingenuity in creating a facility that is “at par with the world’s best zoological and botanical gardens.”
“We can have a soft opening. Then the guest would like all the construction workers who worked here. They need a day off. They will take their wives, they will bring their children,” he said, explaining why he set the date for December 30.
The Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer thus ordered city officials to provide free food and drinks for the workers and their families for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor while spending quality time with their loved ones.
“They will open. It will be a family day. They are premium, they work hard for that. So they are just the right VIP treatment,” Moreno said.