Kolkata will soon have its own edition of ‘Kolkata Eye’ modelled on the ‘London Eye’. The ‘City of Joy’ would soon get a 130-meter high, ‘Kolkata Giant Wheel’, a giant ferris wheel like the ‘London Eye’ will soon get erected at the center of Millennium Park on the bank of river Hooghly. The Kolkata Eye is likely to have 36 air-conditioned capsules made of steel and glass that can accommodate eight people each. The gigantic ferris wheel would rotate slowly to offer a bird’s-eye view of the city from the height of a 30-storeyed building. It would take people to a height of 100 meter and would take around 30 minutes to make a full circle.
The project aims to be a major tourist attraction of the metropolis in the coming days. A project of KMDA, under the Department of Urban Development, Government of West Bengal, it will come up on Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) owned land on the banks of river Hooghly. KMDA and KoPT have formed a 50:50 special purpose vehicle (SPV) for this first-of-its-kind giant wheel project in India and has leased out to a British firm, Sun Consulting and Investment (UK) to run the wheel complex for a period of 30 years. IL&FS has been appointed as the adviser for the project and entrusted the responsibility to liaison with the different stakeholders.
Sudip Datta, COO, IL&FS Infrastructure said, “The Giant Wheel will be 120 meter high, constructed on a 10 meter high base structure. The project cost is pegged at INR 380 crore. While the state government through KMDA will be investing around INR 80 crore on the project, Sun Consulting will be bringing in the remaining INR 300 crore.” As many as 400 people will get fresh direct employment while 2000 more would get indirect earning opportunity from this project. Datta mentioned that the fully automated project will have zero waste discharge on the river. Almost 90 per cent of the project area will remain a green zone.