VISAKHAPATNAM: Ball has started rolling for the Mega Wheel similar to London Eye on the Visakhapatnam Beach Road near D. Ramanaidu Studios. It will be the first of its kind in India and among the 10 giant wheels in the world.
The project is being actively discussed at the chief secretary-level. An expression of interest might be called before this month-end, disclosed Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) chairman Vara Prasad Reddy.
“It is a pet project of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. We have suggested that the proposed Sky Tower too be built at the same venue, so that facilities like parking and amenities for tourists are common for both,” Vara Prasad told Deccan Chronicle on Thursday.
London Eye will become a new landmark for the City of Destiny, the designated executive capital of Andhra Pradesh. It will be the first Mega Wheel project in India, which will put Visakhapatnam in the company of major cities of the world. The proposed height of the Mega Wheel is 125 metres, bringing it among top 10 Mega Wheels in the world, APTDC chairman maintained.
Incidentally, on October 27, the Chief Minister told his colleagues at the cabinet meeting: “Bringing a London Eye-type project to Visakhapatnam will be a major achievement.”
The wheel will have 44 air-conditioned cabins of 54 square feet each and carry 440 persons at full capacity. The cabins will have automatic photography equipment. Tourists will get their pictures after alighting from the wheel.
The giant wheel, illuminated after sunset, would be visible to seafarers as well as citizens from miles away, Vara Prasad Reddy observed.
Ain Dubai of 250 metres height on UAE Bluewater Island is the tallest wheel in the world, followed by High Roller 167.6 metres (US), Singapore Flyer 165 metres, Singapore Marina Centre, Star of Nanchang 160 metres, and China’s Nanchang and UK’s London Eye of 135 metres each.
