The two ski areas on Mt Ruapehu, Tūroa and Whakapapa, on New Zealand's North Island, which had been operated by one company claiming the stats for the two separate areas combined comprised "New Zealand's largest ski area" are to be run by two separate businesses, the country's media is reporting.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) entered voluntary administration earlier this year owing $45 million, a victim of the pandemic followed by a no/low snow season last winter, having also invested in major infrastructure upgrades in recent years, as well as warnings of Mt Ruapu erupting leading to an exclusion zone around the summit of the volcano for a period in 2022.
Now New Zealand's government is recommending a local business take over Tūroa, while Whakapapa may be run by a private equity firm with connections to some well known names in the New Zealand ski industry, NZ media company Newshub claimed, sating there had been four bidders for the ski areas.
"Owners of businesses and those who depend on the tourists that the mountain attracts are ecstatic about the developments," the NZ Herald reports.