The City of Ethekwini has unveiled plans for a multi-million-rand Ferris wheel on the beachfront promenade, called the Durban Eye.
The privately-developed project is expected to launch in February 2023, just in time for the Easter holidays, with construction set to begin in July this year.
The project takes obvious inspiration from the London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, which is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over three million visitors annually.
“This will offer tourists a spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of the city. The 60-meter-high attraction will boast 30 to 36 eight-seater cabins. The full rotation of the wheel will take 20 minutes. Retail businesses will surround the structure,” the City of Ethekwini said.
“It will be situated at the southern end of the beachfront, bordering the harbour entrance channel. The site looks toward the Bluff headland and will welcome cargo and passenger cruise ships into the newly built passenger cruise terminal, the KwaZulu Cruise Terminal. The position of the Durban Eye aims to attract visitors to the city centre.”
While the project has already drawn comparisons to South Africa’s planned R22 million monumental flag on social media, it should be noted that the Durban Eye is not a government initiative and will not be funded with taxpayer money.
Hotels and flights
Other developments in the pipeline for the city include the opening of the 200-bedroom Radisson Blu Hotel at the Oceans project in uMhlanga ahead of the winter season in June this year.
“The R650 million hotel has 20 000 black investors, and the city will spend R100 million on public transport facilities and the upgrade of nearby roads. The overall investment is more than R1 billion from the private sector,” it said.
The city said it is also working with the region’s route development committee to attract more international flights and to enhance intra-Africa trade.
The plans include reactivating the Air…