The John Hope Gateway opens this month at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh (RBGE) amid speculation about the RBGE's finances.
The organisation lost £1.2m when Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander went into administration last October, although the RBGE is hoping to claw back some £500,000 by the end of this financial year.
Alan Bennell, the head of visitor services at RBGE, said that the £15.7m centre, which opens on 7 October, had come in on budget and would not be affected by the lost cash, which was largely reserves.
The RBGE hopes the centre, part-powered by a wind-turbine and housing a restaurant, exhibition spaces, and a schoolroom, will deliver a profit through its retail and catering, he said, but in the meantime there are tight controls on recruitment, with about ten posts unfilled.
Bennell is confident the centre will help to meet his target of raising annual visitor figures to the garden from 600,000 to 800,000 over the next five years.
The organisation lost £1.2m when Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander went into administration last October, although the RBGE is hoping to claw back some £500,000 by the end of this financial year.
Alan Bennell, the head of visitor services at RBGE, said that the £15.7m centre, which opens on 7 October, had come in on budget and would not be affected by the lost cash, which was largely reserves.
The RBGE hopes the centre, part-powered by a wind-turbine and housing a restaurant, exhibition spaces, and a schoolroom, will deliver a profit through its retail and catering, he said, but in the meantime there are tight controls on recruitment, with about ten posts unfilled.
Bennell is confident the centre will help to meet his target of raising annual visitor figures to the garden from 600,000 to 800,000 over the next five years.
