Moscow plans to open a new tourism attraction – the world’s highest Ferris wheel. The project is planned to be finished within the coming years.
Moscow Metropolitan Municipality would like to attract more tourists with a new and remarkable landmark – the world's highest Ferris wheel. The new attraction called "Moscow View" should be 220 m high, which is well above the world famous London Eye (135 m) and Singapore Flyer (165 m).
The idea of building the Ferris wheel in Moscow first appeared in 2002, reported Rbcdaily.ru. Now the Moscow authorities have once again returned to the concept and plan to realize it within the coming years. The construction is supposed to require an investment of $300 million. The invested money should return within five to seven years.
The designer of the wheel is the American Bureau of Gensler. Among their works is the design of River Park (the Olympic Games 2012 venue in London), as well as the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, skyscraper in Shanghai.
The design of the wheel is very unusual since it won’t have any internal spokes and the cabins will move on special rails. Along the wheel a spire of 320 m will be built.
Today, the highest attraction in the world is Singapore Flyer which was open in Singapore in 2008. London Eye is currently the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom. It welcomes over 3.5 million people every year. When erected in 1999, London Eye was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until surpassed first by the Star of Nanchang (160 m) in 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165 m) in 2008.
The Moscow authorities are well aware that the capital needs more unique attractions. The City Hall is thus working on a program to develop tourism in the city until 2016. According to Euromonitor International, the Russian capital is still in 19th place in the ranking of the world's tourist destinations. The city officials plan to attract 7 million tourists a year compared to the current 4 million and earn more than $1.6 billion per year from inbound tourism.