Magnetic Hill Zoo lemur enclosure construction almost done, nearly $500K over budget

Ring-tailed lemurs at the Magnetic Hill Zoo. (Courtesy of Aloma Jardine)

The Magnetic Hill Zoo has been busy with construction work to expand its lemur habitat, putting up a new building to house the primates. As summer approaches, the lemur building project is nearly complete.

Last year, the City of Moncton approved funding for the project with a budget of $4 million, including a contingency amount of $200,000 for the construction process.

This week, council had to approve an additional $250,000 for the zoo to bring its construction to the finish line. The vote on Monday was unanimous.

“I am glad the renovation is proceeding, but I’m disappointed it is almost $500,000 over budget and that it appears that it’s because of a miscommunication between the zoo management and engineering consultants,” says Moncton Coun. Daniel Bourgeois in a statement to CTV News Atlantic.

Aloma Jardine, director of communications for the city, says whenever possible, they try to re-use or repurpose materials.

“The original project plan intended to re-use existing habitat mesh from another habitat within the Zoo,” says Jardine in a statement to CTV News Atlantic.

She says once the design and operational requirements for the new habitat were finalized, it was determined the existing materials wouldn’t meet the needs or criteria of the space.

“That meant purchasing new meshing, which was not included in the original project scope. The existing habitat meshing will remain in use at its current location within the Zoo,” says Jardine.

Had council decided not to approve the budget, the zoo says it would have resulted in a smaller enclosure area, impacting the welfare of the lemurs and delaying the completion of the project.

The zoo also notes that delaying the completion poses a reputational risk as it prepares for high tourism season.

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