World's largest Ferris wheel nears completion in Dubai

New photos of the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, the Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye), have been unveiled which show the gigantic attraction is more than halfway complete.

Once completed, the 210-metre wheel will surpass the 167-metre High Roller, currently the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, in Las Vegas and even the planned 192-metre New York Wheel due to be completed by next April as well as Britain’s 135-metre London Eye.



Dubai’s latest attraction has the capacity to carry up to 1,400 passengers in its 48 capsules and will offer panoramic 360-degree views of the Dubai coast and other record-breaking sites such as the Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah and Burj Khalifa. An 80-metre LED is also expected to be mounted on it which will be used for broadcasts, advertisements and other announcements.

PHOTO: BLUEWATERS ISLAND

Made of 9,000 tonnes of steel, which is 25 per cent more than what was required to build the Eiffel Tower of Paris, each of the wheel’s eight 107-metre rim sections is said to weigh nearly the equivalent of two Airbus A380 planes -- the world’s largest commercial aircraft.

Ain Dubai is developed by Dubai-based Meraas company and will be crowned the centre piece of the Bluewaters Project which will offer residential area of luxury apartments as well entertainment zones, including an array of nearly 200 retail and dining venues.



The £1.2 billion island complex is set near Jumeirah Beach Residence, connected to the beachfront by a 265-metre pedestrian bridge and to the mainland by a bridge from Sheikh Zayed Road. A monorail system is planned to transport visitors to the site’s entertainment areas, including from Dubai Metro’s Nakheel Harbour and Towers station.

PHOTO: THE GUARDIAN

The Bluewaters complex is expected to finish construction by 2018, give years after the project was initiated. It is hoped Ain Dubai will attract more than three million visitors a year, developers said when plans for the wheel were initially announced in 2013.

This article originally appeared on Telegraph.