Noah's Ark Project Back On, To Be Erected In Kentucky

The long-stalled plans of a Christian ministry to build Noah's Ark in the hills of Kentucky have been revived, the Associated Press reported.

Estimated to cost about $74 million, a municipal bond offering has raised enough money to begin construction on the Ark Encounter project, Ken Ham, Creation Museum founder, announced Thursday.

With the ark expected to be finished by the summer of 2016, groundbreaking is planned for May.

According to the AP, Ham said a high-profile evolution debate he had with "Science Guy" Bill Nye on Feb. 4 helped boost support for the project.

After learning that the project would move forward, Nye said he was "heartbroken and sickened for the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

He said the ark would eventually draw more attention to the beliefs of Ham's ministry, which preaches that the Bible's creation story is a true account, and as a result, "voters and taxpayers in Kentucky will eventually see that this is not in their best interest."

During the debate, which focused on science and the Bible's explanations of the origins of the universe, Ham's Answers in Genesis ministry and the Creation Museum enjoyed an avalanche of news media attention.

"Answers in Genesis unveiled the proposal in 2010 for a $150 million theme park that would include the ark," the AP reported. "But private donations to the project did not keep pace with the construction timeline, forcing its backers to delay the ark's construction and divide the park development into phases. The bonds were offered last year by the city of Williamstown, site of the planned ark about 40 miles south of Cincinnati."

The AP added, "Ham said the bond issue faced many obstacles, including what he called misleading news media reports and attempts by opponents to disrupt the bond offering."

Due to underwriter restrictions, the total amount of bond funds raised could not be disclosed by Ham. But a December bond document describing the project listed the amount at $62 million.

Claiming that the minimum funding requirement was achieved, Mark Looy, a vice president with Answers in Genesis, said the figure is less than $62 million.

Nye brushed off a question about whether he might be criticized for taking part in a debate that boosted fundraising for the ark, the AP reported.

"Me? I've always been criticized," he said.

With the city not being liable for the money, the bonds are to be repaid through revenue from the park, according to bond documents.

The wooden ark would have old-world details, such as wooden pegs instead of nails, straight-sawed timbers and plenty of animals - some alive, some robotic, the AP reported.

Criticized by scientists as an affront to evolution science, the Creation Museum opened in 2007. Since then, the museum has been visited by 2 million people, Ham said Thursday.

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