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The Flyer's chairman Florian Bollen said a secondary operating system, with a separate power supply, would be at the heart of its push to ensure the Dec 23 incident does not happen again.
This secondary operating system will be placed apart from the main one, he said, to ensure that it would be unaffected in case a fire breaks out in the latter - as was the case in last month's incident.
Switching to this system would take 'minutes', he said, and passengers may not even notice a delay.
In addition to a secondary operating system, the Flyer will also add a winch system. If both operating systems fail, the observation wheel's brakes would first be released. In most cases, gravity will cause the wheel to move, allowing passengers to be unloaded.
But if it does not, two winches, to be installed on each side of the base of the Flyer, will move the wheel.
British safety expert Richard Barnes, a member of the international panel which was flown in to review the cause of the stoppage and make recommendations, said adding these systems would mean a maximum delay of only 20 minutes.
Mr Bollen would not say how much the two back-up systems would cost, or how long it would take to install them.
When asked when the Flyer will reopen, he said: 'Our biggest wish is that it be operational again for Chinese New Year.' He admitted, however, that this is ambitious, as it is only a fortnight away. 'We will only submit a request to resume operations when we are certain that the events of Dec 23 will not be repeated.'
Such a request will have to be submitted to the police, which will then get an expert body to certify the changes before allowing operations to go ahead.
When asked why systems such as those announced yesterday were not in place earlier, Mr Barnes said not many wheels have such back-up measures.
'In general it is not felt necessary to have a complete, separate driving system. They are all very, very reliable and there are already built in back-ups,' he said.
Other measures to be introduced, he said, will see each capsule being equipped with emergency packs containing items like water, salt tablets and glucose.
Communications systems will be improved to ensure all passengers are kept in the loop. This was a major bugbear of trapped visitors during the last stoppage, who said not knowing what was going on made them more anxious and agitated.
Mr Bollen declined to say how much the company has lost because of the police-mandated stoppage.
On the subject of help for tenants, who have been badly hit by the closure, Mr Bollen said no rental waivers - apart from an earlier one granted for the period of Dec 23 to Dec 31 - are planned. But the management is engaging tenants individually and will be working out individual packages.
As for the 173 stranded passengers, vice-president of operations Yazed Osman could not confirm if they would be compensated.
Click here to watch the Singapore Flyer Press Conference in full.
