DURBAN - A feasibility study on uShaka Marine World has found that the entity has enough annual visitors to keep it afloat.
The study was commissioned by the entity to identify its challenges, which have left it surviving on financial bailouts from the eThekwini Municipality.
It found that when compared to other theme parks around the world, the entity has sufficient foot traffic to ensure that was not part of its challenges.
A report by service providers tabled before councillors on Tuesday found that uShaka Marine World had around 800 000 visitors annually, which was a good number when compared to other theme parks that attracted around 1.5 million people annually.
The study was commissioned as part of the city’s efforts to try and save the entity, which is facing dire financial challenges.
Its financial problems were worsened by the impact of Covid-19, that forced it to close down -- whilst it still had to pay its bills.
During that period, it incurred a R16 million electricity bill, which left it in the red, while it was unable to generate a single cent because it had no visitors.
Last year, it was revealed that the entity would get about R60m in funding from the city. And prior to that, it had received other financial packages to stay afloat.
The problems have been so severe that there have been calls from some councillors to cut its losses and sell the entity.
But the study poured cold water on that proposal, stating that the assets of the entity may not attract high prices as they have depreciated over the years.
Councillors on the Executive Committee, who had demanded that the entity tables a turnaround plan, spent almost an hour on Tuesday morning touring the facility.
Some of them were in awe of the scale of the operations and the diverse and numerous marine life that is cared for by the entity.