The idea of Singapore's Ferris Wheel first came into being in 2000, and the formal plan began in 2002. The German Melchers Project Management (MPM) and Orient Pacific Management (O P) jointly established Singapore Ferris Wheel Co., Ltd. as the developer of the project. MPM and O P account for 75% and 25% respectively. After the project was officially announced, a memorandum of understanding was approved and signed by the Singapore Tourism Bureau on 27 June 2003, formally recording the agreement between the developer and the Tourism Bureau on land acquisition procedures. The memorandum stipulates that the land in the coastal centre will be purchased from the Singapore Land Administration and leased to Singapore Ferris Wheel Co., Ltd. for a period of 30 years and an optional extension of 15 years. In addition, the Tourist Bureau will not charge rent during the construction of the project. In July 2003, Jones Lang LaSalle was appointed as the real estate consultant for the project. Takenaka Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were selected as contractors, and Arup was responsible for structural engineering research and design. The Ferris wheel was originally designed to resemble the London Eye, with a height of 170 meters, but was criticized for lack of originality. The developer quickly responded that the design was not the final version, but for conceptual purposes. The Ferris wheel, which was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2005, was delayed indefinitely because of the difficulty in raising funds for developers. In September 2005, the project was funded by two German banks, Delbrueck Bethmann Maffei Bank (a subsidiary of Bank of the Netherlands), which provided S$100 million for the project and S$140 million for Yubao United Bank, which enabled the project to recover.