Construction began Monday on what was expected to be the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, which will soar 680 feet over the Chinese capital when it is complete, state media reported.
The $99 million Beijing Great Wheel was supposed to be open to tourists at next summer’s Olympic Games, but the project had been delayed by a number of design changes, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Great Wheel Corp. A completion date has not been announced.
The Ferris wheel was being built in eastern Beijing’s Chaoyang Park, which is also the venue for beach volleyball in the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. It will have 48 air-conditioned compartments that can carry up to 1,920 passengers, Xinhua said, citing Great Wheel Chairman Florian Bollen.
His Singapore-based company is jointly developing the project with Chaoyang Park authorities.
The structure was designed by the same Dutch company that worked on the 443-foot London Eye, which was the largest wheel in the world when it was built in 1999.
China already has a Ferris wheel taller than the London Eye. The 525-foot-tall Star of Nanchang opened in 2006 in southern Jiangxi province.
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