Ferris wheel in Central on course for soft launch in September, director claims
Man behind city's answer to the London Eye seeks to allay fears it will never get off the ground
The man behind Hong Kong's answer to the London Eye has sought to allay fears the big wheel project might never get off the ground, saying all the parts are now in the city and a soft launch is on schedule for September.
It has been a year since the three-year contract to operate a giant Ferris wheel was awarded by the Lands Department - but the site at Central ferry piers 9 and 10 remained empty until a few steel structures appeared recently and some large containers bearing the logo of the company that won the tender, Swiss AEX.
With only two years of the contract left to run, AEX director Leon Snep told the Sunday Morning Post: "Our planning is more or less on par."
Snep, a Dutch national, said the company always knew it would take at least a year to get the Ferris wheel up and running.
Of course, we would have liked to have the [wheel] up and running by now
In his IFC corner office, which overlooks the site AEX pays HK$825,000 per month in rent for, Snep added: "Of course, we would have liked to have the Hong Kong Observation Wheel up and running by now, but we are still working according to plan - a plan which we presented in our tender to the government as far back as November 2012."