By Melanie Lee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The world's largest ferris wheel, theSingapore Flyer, made its first spin on Monday, offeringpassengers a bird's eye view of the city-state as well as partsof neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
Over 700 executives from 17 corporations and their guestssipped wine and nibbled on salmon canapes while soaking up theview of the Southeast Asian city-state by night.
The inaugural rotation cost the companies a hefty S$8,888(3,200 pounds) per capsule -- a prosperous number according toChinese belief.
"It's different. It was very cool being able to see toSingapore's golf courses from the top and the F1 (Formula One)pit being built," said 16-year-old Joanne Chong.
Her father Winstedt Chong, a business consultant in his50s, was less impressed. "I have sat on the KL (Kuala Lumpur)and Tokyo observation wheels, and the Singapore Flyer is not asbeautiful. I hope they brush up on the lighting anddecoration." he said.
Standing at 541 feet high, the Singapore Flyer, which opensto the public in March, is 98 feet taller than the London Eye.However, both will be trounced in 2009 by the 682 feet GreatWheel of China in Beijing.
The Singapore Flyer, built at a cost of S$240 million, has28 bus-sized capsules attached to a circular frame 150 metres(492 feet) in diameter. It can accommodate 28 people in eachcapsule and each ride will cost around S$30 a head and last 30minutes.
Although the giant wheel's grand opening will be on April15, it will feature a series of soft launches in February toinclude a Valentine's Day special for couples seeking aromantic view and a singles' mingling session.
The Singapore Flyer is part of the city-state's drive toboost tourism dollars to S$30 billion and attract 17 millionvisitors each year by 2015.
The city-state will also host a yearly Formula One racestarting this year and is building two casinos at a total costof over $7 billion.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Neil Chatterjee andDavid Fox)
