The world's tallest observation wheel will be completed in time for Expo 2020 Dubai, a Dubai-based holding company revealed on Wednesday.
Meraas confirmed that Ain Dubai will be completed in time for the world expo. Standing at over 250 metres high, the structure will be over 200 percent taller than the first ever Ferris wheel, which was built for the 1893 Chicago World Fair.
The company also said that the eighth and final 450-tonne temporary spoke has been successfully removed from the structure and the last of the permanent spoke cables has been installed, as progress on the project continues. This process marks the first time the modern observation structure has been one complete wheel since construction began.
As construction on Ain Dubai progresses, the colossal magnitude of the project becomes ever-clearer. With the removal of the final temporary steel spoke, the weight of the wheel rim has been entirely transferred to 192 spoke cables, which ensure the structural integrity of Ain Dubai through the process of permanent compression.
The eight temporary steel spokes and rim braces weighed more than 5,000 tonnes, with the length of each permanent spoke longer than a professional football pitch.
The cable wires responsible for holding the wheel rim in place have a total length of 2,400 kilometres, or the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
When comparing other observation wheels, Ain Dubai will stand some 83 metres higher than the current tallest wheel, the High Roller in Las Vegas, and 115 metres higher than the London Eye in the UK.
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