'Kolkata Eye' to come up at Millennium Park on bank of River Hooghly

KOLKATA: Kolkata will soon have its ' Kolkata Eye' modelled on the ' London Eye', a giant ferris wheel, providing a magnificent view of the metropolis from a height of 120 meter.

The 'Kolkata Eye' will be constructed at Millennium Park on the bank of the River Hooghly, Urban Development ministry sources told PTI.

"It will be an icon of the great city of Kolkata and will enrich the ongoing river-front beautification project," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

"This project, the first of its kind in size and magnitude in India, is already underway and is expected to be ready in a year's time," she said in a Facebook post.

The view of the skyline of metropolis from the 'giant wheel', she said, would be a tourist attraction.

The contract was awarded on Wednesday to a UK-based company for the construction of the 'Kolkata Eye' for Rs 300 crore, the sources said.

It would have 36 air-conditioned capsules which would rotate slowly affording a wonderful view of the skyline.

The London Eye, standing 135 metre tall on the south bank of the River Thames in London was erected in 1999.