Work on what is said to be the world's largest ferris wheel started yesterday.

The Beijing Great Wheel, being built in the Chaoyang Park in the east, will stand at 208 m and aims to offer an unsurpassed view of the city when built by 2009.

The landmark was originally scheduled for completion in time for the Olympic Games next year, but was delayed several times to improve its design, said sources from Great Wheel Corporation, a Singapore-based company that is jointly developing the project with Chaoyang Park authorities.

Chaoyang Park is the venue for beach volleyball events during next year's Games.

While there is currently no exact timetable for the wheel's completion, the company stated on its website that the $99 million project will be completed in 2009. The wheel's foundation was laid in May last year.

The wheel, which has a diameter of 193 m, was designed by the same Dutch company that worked on the London Eye, the 135m structure built in the British capital in 1999 for the millennium celebrations.

So far, Chaoyang Park authorities have not yet set a price for a ride on the attraction.