Two years in the past, Dubai’s skyscraper-studded skyline welcomed a Ferris wheel touted because the world’s largest, nevertheless it mysteriously stopped turning simply months after opening.
The much-touted Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye) was designed as a tourist-luring landmark within the United Arab Emirates’ glam-hub, which is residence to the world’s tallest constructing.
However now it stands idle for undisclosed causes, its extravagant lighting fixtures the one components seemingly nonetheless working.
“Ain Dubai stays closed till additional discover,” says an official web site for the attraction.
“We proceed to scrupulously work on finishing the enhancement works which were happening over the previous months.”
The wheel was supposed to shut for only a month however its reopening has since been postponed indefinitely.
These behind the venture inaugurated in 2021 have did not reply to enquiries.
At eating places, retailers and cafes constructed across the attraction, workers stay sceptical that the construction, which took round six years to construct, will ever flip once more.
“Final yr they promised us that in winter it will likely be open, even now, they’re saying that in (the approaching) winter it will likely be open once more,” mentioned one worker at a close-by store.
“However we’re undecided… it would,” mentioned the person who requested to stay nameless because of concern of reprisal.
– ‘Too sluggish’ –
The Dubai Eye, constructed by a consortium of worldwide firms, is situated in Bluewaters — a man-made island designed as a retail, residential and leisure hub.
For greater than a yr, the primary entrance to the attraction has remained closed and ticket cubicles deserted. Solely a sluggish trickle of vacationers go to the location, snapping photos of LED lights mounted on its exterior.
“I requested a safety guard right here about it and he instructed me that it does not work,” mentioned Marwan Mohammad, an Egyptian vacationer.
“I requested him for the explanation however he didn’t give me a solution,” mentioned the 33-year-old enterprise guide.
In a metropolis full of record-breaking landmarks, the Dubai Eye stands at a peak of 250 metres (825 toes), every of its legs the size of 15 London buses, in keeping with Dubai’s tourism division.
Almost twice as tall because the London Eye, it’s the largest of its form on this planet.
Its 48 passenger cabins, all of them air-conditioned, can carry round 1,750 passengers on a single journey.
Ticket costs vary between 100 dirhams (about $27) and 4,700 dirhams (about $1,280), with luxurious passes and personal cabins on provide.
“The view was very stunning from above,” mentioned Mohammad who skilled the 38-minute journey earlier than it closed, including nonetheless, that it moved “too slowly”.
– ‘Heavier than island’ –
With no official clarification, rumours are rife on the Ferris wheel’s obvious technical points, particularly amongst workers at Bluewaters.
All of them spoke on situation of anonymity, fearing repercussions from authorities or their employers.
“It is a man-made island. I heard that (the wheel) is heavier than the island itself, that is why it is rather harmful,” mentioned a waiter at a close-by restaurant, including that it had been noisy throughout its few months of operation.
“Now… it is just for present, only for the lighting and that is it”.
The enormous wheel, fabricated from extra metal than the Eiffel Tower, options prominently on the checklist of Dubai’s high vacationer sights.
They embrace the Dubai Body monument and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest constructing.
Patrick Clawson, analysis director on the Washington Institute for Close to East Coverage, mentioned official silence on the Ferris wheel urged a sophisticated drawback.
UAE authorities are usually “fast to offer info in the event that they” have an answer, he mentioned.
However with the Dubai Eye, “no matter the issue, the authorities should not assured they’ve an answer,” he instructed AFP.
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Initially revealed as Thriller in Dubai as mega-wheel stops turning
