‘Giant Esky’ indoor ski resort secures Chinese backing
An ambitious $700 million project to build Australia’s first indoor ski resort is set to hit the slopes after securing backing from a leading Chinese operator.
Winter Sports World chief executive Peter Magnisalis signed a memorandum of understanding with BonSki Group, the world’s largest indoor ski operator, in Guangzhou, China, on Thursday.
The project in Penrith, west of Sydney, is billed as Australia’s largest tourism construction project, with an Olympic-class ski slope, 4.5-star hotel and restaurants.
Mr Magnisalis said construction would begin in a few months and the opening would be in 2028.
Bonski, which operates indoor ski resorts in Chinese cities, including Huafa Snow World in Shenzhen, the world’s largest indoor snow village, will transfer its expertise to the project once it is implemented, within the scope of this milestone partnership.
Ready for use following a 10-year approval process, the project was granted major development status by the NSW government in late 2024.
Mr Magnisalis said the facility would have an “international, iconic look”.
“We have the Opera House, we have the Sydney Harbor Bridge and soon there will be the Winter Sports World too,” he told AAP from Guangzhou.
“There is nothing like it in the world and it will put Western Sydney on the global map.”
While Winter Sports World estimates that the “giant Esky” will attract 1.5 million domestic visitors a year, it also expects great interest from international tourists.
The ski resort will be located on the banks of Penrith’s Nepean River, 15 km from Western Sydney Airport, which will open in December 2026.
It’s also accessible from Penrith Beach, which locals call Pondi in a cheeky reference to Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach.
The ski slope will be 300 meters long and the snow will be free of chemicals, created only by air and water.
Mr Magnisalis said nearly half of Australians had never seen snow, so the project would offer a major “snow game”.
He added that visitors can learn to ski and snowboard, but the ski operation can also host Olympic-level training.
The facility’s hotel will have 200 rooms.
Winter Sports World predicts the project will create 2700 jobs in western Sydney.
Mr. Magnisalis said funding for the project would come from a combination of local and international corporate groups, but he declined to be more specific.
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