Ford will build 7000-room ski resort in HP

SHIMLA: Picture this: 7,000 five-star hotel rooms, 300 villas, and endless shopping complexes in the heart of picturesque Himachal Pradesh.

Sounds far-fetched? But that is the plan drawn up for a ski village near Manali in Kullu district with estimated foreign direct investment of US$500 million.

Alfred B Ford, great grandson of legendary automaker Henry Ford and chairman of Himalaya Ski Village Private Limited, a company set up to execute the project, signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government on Tuesday to build the village.

Spread over 100 acres, it will have ski slopes of international standards and linking ropeways at heights ranging from 9,000 to 14,000 feet. Visitors will be able to stay at five-star hotels or personal villas and shop in mega complexes. The facilities, officials hope, will invite tourism on a scale that will transform the region’s economy.

The blueprint envisages a handicrafts market offering local villages and craftsmen direct business opportunities and a theatre complex. The design will be guided by the Winter Olympics Association so that the venue can vie to stage the event in future.

Ford, who is also associated with ISKCON and goes by the name Ambarisa Das, dismissed fears that the project will disturb the hills’ ecology. “It’s a 21st century venture,” he said, “firmly based on three-way balancing of the social equity, environmental quality, and economic vitality.”

He asserted that local communities and business and village leaders will be involved in the decision-making and have a say in its design. The Indian Institute of Forest Management has been asked to conduct an environmental survey.

Dream holidays

The five top skiing destinations for Indians abroad and their costs (inclusive of food, fare and stay)

Duration: 5-6 days

Switzerland: Rs 75000

Austria: Rs 75000

New Zeland: Rs 80000

Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark): Over 1 lakh