A second company wants to erect a giant Ferris wheel on the Central waterfront.
Dubai-based Freij Entertainment International confirmed yesterday that it was in negotiations with the Hong Kong government to raise a transportable, 60-metre-high, 42-cabin Ferris wheel, following the joint bid submitted by two British companies, The Hall Organisation and Great City Attractions Global.
Both applications are under consideration by the government for a project that reportedly will be worth around HK$95 million.
Freij's Ferris wheel is already in Hong Kong, where, according to a company spokesman, it has been stored after it was dismantled in Malaysia. According to reports on the website of the Malaysian newspaper The Star, the 'Eye on Asia' Ferris wheel was first erected in Kuala Lumpur, and then in Kota Laksamana, on a site next to the Malacca River. It was taken down in October last year after a business dispute about tenancy.
Billed as the 'biggest entertainment company in the world', Freij Entertainment International runs theme parks and carnivals in Europe, Africa and the Persian Gulf. 'We are the biggest Ferris wheel and carnival operators in the world,' chief executive Freij Elzein said.
'Currently we are the Ferris wheel suppliers for La Grande Roue de Paris and are organisers of the 2011 Expo Carnival in Shanghai. We've invested a lot of money in this and we've gone through due process concerning all the relevant government departments.