AN AMBITIOUS £8million cable-car system across the Thames could become a central attraction in the Greenwich Millennium project -- and it's the brainchild of an Orpington firm.

Two years ago, a small project management company called Capitol came up with the idea for a Skyway scheme taking passengers in skypods from the Greenwich peninsular to the East India station of the Docklands Light Railway.

Greenwich Council finally gave outline planning permission this month and work is due to start in the summer.

It has delighted staff at Capitol.

"It is great news," said spokesman David Steele.

"It is something that we came up with two years ago and have been developing ever since,".

The trip will take three minutes and, according to projections, will carry up to 5,000 visitors at a cost of £2 a time.

The 23 carriages come from Austria and will be powered by electric motors. Lights and the communication systems will be sourced by hi-tech solar panels.

Capitol is looking into selling the idea in other parts of the country which could link towns, motorways and even shopping centres in a bid to make shoppers "park and fly".

Mr Steele went on: "It is not just about cable cars.

"We want to build other environmental sound people movers because there is so little pollution."

The skyway infrastructure -- the lines, cables and stands -- will hopefully be built using local workers from south east London according, to Mr Steele.

It is expected a number of extra jobs will also be brought to Orpington to add to Capitol's current project staff of 12.

The only problem for the Skyway is big ships ploughing through the Thames.

But even here the designers have come up with solution -- the space-age skypods can be unhooked in the event of any large scale emergency.

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