The worlds largest observation ferris wheel opened to the public. The wheel situated on the coastline of Dubai stands over 250 meters (820 ft) tall setting a new Guinness world record.
Its called ‘Ain Dubai’ (Dubai Eye) and is almost twice the size of the London’s wheel ‘The London Eye’, at only 135 meters tall.
The following written content from Evan Bourke
The record-breaking structure includes around 11,200 tonnes of steel, approximately 33 per cent more than the amount of iron used to construct the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Each of the permanent spoke cables responsible for maintaining the wheel’s structural integrity is made from smaller 9mm thick wires. Laid out, end-on-end, they would span 2,400km – the same distance from Paris to Moscow.
Ain Dubai’s 48 air-conditioned cabins can hold up to 1,750 passengers at a time, showing them the holiday hotspot from a new perspective.
One complete rotation of the wheel takes 38 minutes.
In a city that is constantly pushing the boundaries of architecture, this latest feat was undertaken by Dubai developer Meeras, and cost almost €228 million.
Although located in the GCC region, many European countries had a significant role in constructing Ain Dubai.
The key engineering on the cabins came from France, whilst the control system and communication system was provided by Italy. Key engineering on the main structure and project management was sourced from the Netherlands and the UK. The highest level of technical expertise was ensured by a reputable independent checking engineer from Germany. Most of the steel for the project was produced in Germany, locally in the UAE and further afield in South Korea.
Mohamed Sharaf, the Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Holding Entertainment, told Euronews that the project will boost Dubai’s tourism. Read more from EN
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