Feasibility studies for a snow park in Durban are well under way, with a team working full time on the concept, says entrepreneur, Vivian Reddy.

The Durban businessman, who is also the chairman of Edison Power and Sibaby Casino, says there is much excitement about the project that he believes will be a game changer for the destination.

“Skiing in the morning followed by an afternoon on the beach is what we are envisioning for tourists to the city. It is the best of both worlds in one location,” he told Tourism Update.

He said at present there was no government involvement in the multimillion-rand project, although high-ranking government officials had expressed their “excitement and enthusiasm” about the park.

“It is still very early days and much still has to happen. I have a team working on the concept full time and they are currently busy with feasibility studies.”

He said a piece of land had been identified as a possible location but he would not divulge where this was, saying it was just still too early in the development.

“My plan is to build an indoor ski park much like the one in Dubai. I think it can work in Durban even though one would not think of Durban in the context of snow,” he said.

Asked about possible investors Reddy only confirmed that it would be a wholly private enterprise and would run into millions if not billions of rands.

“We are very excited about the prospects and the team working on the concept have visited several snow parks elsewhere in the world, including the one in Dubai,” he said. “We cannot commit to a timeline for the project as such, but I can confirm that we are very serious and committed to developing a snow park in Durban.” According to Reddy, his team were highly impressed by the snow park in Dubai.

He said the Dubai snow park was extremely popular and had proved that it was possible to have a park of this kind in an environment not associated with snow.

“It will be an indoor facility, that much we know, with a range of snow activities including a ski slope. The concept is proving to be feasible,” he said.

The Dubai Snowpark is the largest facility of its kind in the world with 3 000 sqm of under-cover snow with attractions such as a snow cavern, tobogganing, bobsledding and skiing facilities.

 “The potential of the park is huge and there is a lot of excitement around it, while the interest is also increasing,” said Reddy. He added that the indoor park would be large enough for a range of snow activities, although what exactly would be included would only be determined at a much later stage.

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