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The 'Singapore Flyer' (Chinese: 新加坡摩天观景轮) is a giant observation wheel under construction in Singapore and slated for an opening on March 1 2008 or earlier^[1]. Reaching 42 stories high, it consists of a 150 metre high wheel built over a three-story terminal building, giving it a total height of 165 metres. This will exceed The Star of Nanchang (currently the tallest) by 5 metres and the London Eye (currently the largest) by 15 metres. It will feature 28 air-conditioned capsules capable of holding 30 passengers each. A complete rotation of the wheel will take an estimated 37 minutes.
Located on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it is expected to offer excellent views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 kilometres, including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia.
It is being built by Singapore-based company Great Wheel Corp^[2].

Contents

History

Design

Expectations

Competition

Gallery

References

External links

History

The Singapore Flyer was first conceived in the early 2000s, before formal planning commenced in 2002. German company Melchers Project Management (MPM) and Orient & Pacific Management (O&P) formed a new company, Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd, as the developer with MPM holding a 75% stake and the rest by O&P. The project was formally announced and endorsed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on 27 June 2003, formalising the understanding between the developer and STB with regards to the land acquisition process. As stipulated in the MOU, the STB will purchase the plot of land in Marina Centre from the Singapore Land Authority, and lease it to Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd for 30 years with an option to extend the lease by another 15 years. In addition, the land will be rent-free during the construction phase of the project. In July 2003, Jones Lang LaSalle was appointed as the real estate advisor. Takenaka and Mitsubishi were selected as the main contractors, and Arup as the structural engineer.
Early designs showed a 170-metre high wheel similar to the London Eye, evoking some criticisms that it lacked originality. The developers promptly pointed out, however, that the design was not finalised, and they were merely for conceptualisation purposes. The project was to grind almost to a halt subsequently when the developers faced difficulties in sourcing for funds to build the wheel. Original plans to complete the wheel by the end of 2005 were thus postponed indefinitely, and there were reports (but denied by the STB) that the tourism board has set an ultimatum date on 31 March 2005 for the developer to iron out its financial issues and to keep the development going.
By September 2005, the project was revived when funds were successfully sourced from two German banks. Delbrueck Bethmann Maffei, a subsidiary of ABN AMRO, will provide equity to a maximum of S$100 million, with a further S$140 million coming from Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank. With the injection of S$240 million, the largest single foreign investment in the Singaporean entertainment industry, the wheel was slated to begin construction by the end of the month.

Design

The development has a gross building area of approximately 16,000 square metres, built on a 33,700 square metre site along the Marina Promenade. Designed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the wheel will feature 28 air-conditioned capsules with a floor area of 26 square metres and capable of holding 30 passengers each (graphic). The constant rotation of the wheel will mean a complete trip lasting an estimated 37 minutes, and has a design capacity of up to 7.3 million passengers a year.
The terminal building on which the wheel sits on comprises of three floors of commercial space, with an adjacent open air Greek-inspired amphitheatre along the waterfront and complimented by a jetty. The site will be beautified by luxurious landscaping, including roof gardens and a recreated rainforest in the terminal's atrium. An open bus park for 40 buses is located behind the building, and connected by an underpass to a covered multi-storey carpark for 300 vehicles. This carpark in turn has direct links to the underground Promenade MRT Station which is slated to be opened by 2010.

Expectations

Upon its opening, the attraction is expected to draw about 2.5 million visitors in its first year of operation, which will give its investors a net yield of about 13.4%. About 50% of its visitors are expected to be foreign tourists, helping to generate about S$94 million in tourism receipts in its opening year. The expected visitorship figure was deemed ambitious by some however, but the STB and the wheel's investors are upbeat over its long-term prospects.
Adval Brand Group, its master ticketing distributor, has guaranteed a minimum of 8 million euros in ticket receipts per year for its investors, which was based on an annual visitorship of 600,000.

Competition

Although the developers constantly drum on its height as a major selling point, the wheel has seen several contenders threatening to exceed it in scale.

★ Las Vegas, for instance, plans to build a 182 metre Voyager wheel, although this has been significantly delayed or might be cancelled.

★ The originally planned Shanghai Star with its completion targeted for 2007 has also been scrapped.

Gallery

References

1. Singapore Flyer may open to public earlier than scheduled Mun Wai Wong
2. Biggest wheel set to turn in Singapore

External links

★ Biggest wheel set to turn in Singapore

★ Singapore Flyer may open to public earlier than scheduled

★ Official website

★ Singapore Flyer on track for completion by early 2008