German hangar may house indoor tropical rainforest

A German hangar designed to house the world's largest airship could end up housing the world's largest indoor tropical rainforest instead.

Malaysian entrepreneur Colin Au unveiled plans yesterday to turn the hangar near Berlin into a multi-million-euro tropical theme park in a joint venture with the Malaysian lottery and energy firm Tanjong.

The hangar, 360m long, 210m wide and 107m high, was built by airship company Cargolifter and was hailed as an engineering feat when completed in 2000.

Cargolifter's insolvency last year prompted Au's vision of a paradise with 100 different types of orchids, a lagoon, beaches, a rainforest, a flower world and village and two hotels on the 66ha site.