India Plans First-Ever International Ski Resort

ET&T Staff - Mumbai

India`s first-ever upscale Hima-layan ski village, designed after world famous winter resorts like Aspen in the US and St Mortiz in the Swiss Alps, will come up in three years in the upper reaches of Manali, in Himachal Pradesh.

The decks for the resort, estimated to cost Rs22bn (£280m/US$500m), being sponsored by American Billionaire Alfred Ford, great-grandson of US car Czar, Henry Ford, were cleared on Thursday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between him and the Himachal Pradesh government.

“Spread over 50 acres of land, the resort will boast of 700 five-star hotel rooms, 300 villas, 150 condos, shops, restaurants and a spa. It will also have a number of ski-lifts, escalators as rope lift gondolas,” said Alfred Ford.

"This will be the largest ever direct foreign investment tourism project in the country," he added.

Besides skiing, winter and summer adventure sports, the options on offer at the resort will be cross country trails, ice skating, sledding, Yak sleight rides and the inevitable entertainment and culture fests.

"We hope to start next summer after getting the final permission by this year-end and hope to open the first phase of the project within three years," Ford stated.