Why The Acquario Ceara In Brazil Is Causing A Stir

The Acquario Ceara will be the third largest aquarium in the world when it is assembled in Fortaleza, Brazil.

The project, costing $130 million, is set to open in 2015 and is currently under construction in Kansas City, Mo., according to the Kansas City Star. 

A. Zahner Company, an internationally acclaimed engineering and fabrication firm, is designing and building the exterior forms and surfaces for the ocean-based aquarium at its fabrication shops in the U.S. 

The aluminum frame and shells are what will be completed before they are shipped south for assembly.

It also is costing the U.S. a great deal of money.

The Acquario Ceará is a design showpiece meant to drive tourism in the state of Ceará after the World Cup, according to Quarrtz.

"In what has to be a global first, a US federal agency is building a blobitectural marvel on another continent in order to create jobs for small businesses at home," wrote Kriston Capps for City Lab. "The Export-Import Bank of the United States is financing the aquarium's construction through a $105 million direct loan, claiming that the transaction will support 700 jobs in the US, with most of the work going to small businesses."

In Brazil, protesters say the aquarium is being built without transparency. They've launched a Facebook page in response to the project, which they feel should be secondary to other issues in the country.

And in the states, people are upset about the expendtiure as well.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has long made it his mission to kill the bank, according to Quartz, and the aquarium did anything but help sway his opinion of it.

"The Export-Import Bank is another taxpayer-funded example of distorted public policy that further erodes Americans' confidence in our markets and our system," reads a statement on the senator's website. "In short, ExIm Bank exists to dole out taxpayer-backed loan guarantees to help American exporters."