Firm completes 'really interesting' zoo project

The attraction will allow people to view a variety of animals usually seen in Africa

A construction firm which normally works on public projects like schools, bus stations and fire stations has just completed work on a new attraction at Chester Zoo.

Andrew Dunham, from Telford-based McPhillips, said The Heart of Africa project had been "really, really interesting".

He also said it had posed some different challenges, including working around the other animals living at the site.

The new area will feature animals commonly seen in the African savannah and is due to open later this year.

Mr Dunham said his company had worked with the Dogs Trust before and had built a conservation breeding management area for Chester Zoo in 2018.

But he said the new zoo attraction was "something new to us".

Zoo staff have started preparing the new attraction for the arrival of the animals

McPhillips had originally bid for the contract during the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed the start of work.

Mr Dunham said construction eventually started in March 2023 and was completed in December last year.

The company designed and built 14 new buildings and animal habitats, based around an open "savannah" area which will feature animals including giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches.

There will also be 51 lodges around a central lake, where visitors can stay.

Andrew Dunham said the project had been 'absolutely fantastic' to work on

Mr Dunham said that while most of the materials used were fairly normal, the design team had needed to take the animals into consideration.

That meant no rubber seals around doors, for instance, in case the animals were tempted to chew them.

"We had a really tight working relationship with all the animal teams," he said.

The new attraction will have an African theme and is due to open in summer 2025

The construction workers also had to be careful not to disturb the existing animals.

Among other things, that meant no cranes because "a change in the skyline might distress them".

With work complete, the zoo was now starting to introduce animals to their new habitats, he said, to get them familiar with it before it opened to the public.