Western Seoul to host city's answer to the London Eye

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Western Seoul to host city's answer to the London Eye

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon explains the capital’s key projects to foreign diplomats at Sebitseom in Seocho District, southern Seoul, last Friday. [YONHAP]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon explains the capital’s key projects to foreign diplomats at Sebitseom in Seocho District, southern Seoul, last Friday. [YONHAP]

A Ferris wheel akin to the London Eye will be built in Sangam-dong, western Seoul.
 
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the plan last Friday during an event hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to explain the capital’s key projects to foreign diplomats stationed in Korea.
 
The city government said members representing some 90 different countries participated in the briefing, which was held at Sebitseom, a set of artificial "floating islands" on the Han River.
 
It was the first time Oh specified the location for the so-called Seoul Ring. The idea was initially brought up last August, when Oh unveiled the Great Sunset initiative during a business trip to Singapore.
 
Over the next four to 10 years, Oh said he would build a Ferris wheel, large floating stages and waterfront sculptures along the Han River to attract more tourists from around the world.
 
Sangam-dong and Nodeul Island, an uninhabited artificial island on the Han River located below Hangang Bridge, were known as two strong contenders for hosting the Seoul Ring.
 
In a regular press briefing Monday at City Hall, Oh’s spokesperson Lee Dong-ryul said Sangam-dong in Mapo District was chosen mainly because it had a “story” to tell on resource circulation.
 
To highlight that story, Lee said the city was thinking about using renewable energy for the Ferris wheel’s operation, mentioning that doing so would be sending a “message” on the importance of sustainable energy.
 
Sangam-dong is home to the so-called Mapo Resource Recovery Facility, which incinerates garbage waste at extremely high temperatures and captures thermal energy for recycled use within the district, such as heating.
 
Last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it would build another waste incineration plant in Sangam-dong in 2026.
 
Seoul said construction of the new incineration plant will be completed by the end of 2026, with operations beginning the following year. The existing incineration plant will be demolished in 2035 and converted into a park.
 
From 2027 to 2035, Sangam-dong will have two incinerators.
 
Seoul’s announcement of the new incinerator has drawn a strong backlash from local residents despite the city's attempts to explain that the four current incineration plants weren’t enough to burn all the daily waste. The city said Sangam-dong was chosen because there were no residences within 300 meters (984 feet) of the new incinerator, plus no new land had to be acquired.
 
The city on Monday said the goal was to build Seoul Ring by 2027, around the time operations for the new incinerator commence. 

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
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