Napier City Council seeks interest in National Aquarium purchase or lease

Napier City Council has today called for Registrations of Interest (ROI) to purchase or lease the National Aquarium of New Zealand.

After community consultation on the Aquarium's future earlier this year, one of the options agreed to by Council was to explore exiting the Aquarium activity by transferring ownership to a third party.

Napier Mayor Richard McGrath says the ROI for purchasing or leasing the Aquarium reflects Council's priority of being financially sustainable.

"We've heard clearly from our community that they want us to stick to the basics. I'm all for Napier being a great visitor destination, but there are others who would be better placed to operate tourist facilities."

The sale or lease of the Aquarium would not include sale of the land. Any viable proposal would go through a full due diligence process.

"Most importantly, we'll talk to our residents about what they think, before making any final decision," says Mayor McGrath.

The ROI is open until 16 January. If a suitable proposal is received, community consultation would take place in mid-2026.