Singapore’s KOP to invest $360m for indoor ski resort in Shanghai

Singapore-listed property developer KOP will invest $360 million to jointly develop an integrated indoor ski resort with Chinese state-owned enterprises in Shanghai.

Slated to open in 2022, the year Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics, the $1.2-billion project sets to tap the rising trend of Chinese consumers spending more on experiences such as travel and sports.

Wintastar Shanghai will be the latest addition to a cluster of theme parks - including Shanghai Disney Resort, Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park and Shanghai Planetarium - in the Pudong district.

"We hope to turn this area into something like Los Angeles or Orlando," said KOP executive chairman Ong Chih Ching, referring to the two American cities with a concentration of theme parks that draw millions of domestic and international tourists each year.

"Our aim is not just to build a top-class resort for the Chinese market, this will be built to cater to international standards," Ms Ong said in her speech at the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday.

The 227,000 sq m project - the size of about 32 football fields - will be the world's largest indoor ski resort when completed. It is expected to create 4,000 jobs and attract 3.2 million visitors each year.

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Dubai conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim is expected to operate the ski park, making it its first venture into the Greater China market.

Besides boasting an alpine-themed 90,000 sq m ski and snow park, the resort will also have a water park and four hotels, including rooms with ski-in and ski-out facilities, mimicking the experience of an outdoor ski resort.

Ms Ong expects the hot summer months to be the peak season for the resort.

China is enjoying a boom in winter sports, especially among the masses. According to a report released in May, ski resorts in China received 17.5 million visitors in the 2017 to 2018 snow season, up 16 per cent from the previous season.