A multimillion-dollar development is being planned for Canterbury's second largest ski field to rival Queenstown.
Porters Ski Area is about an hour away from Christchurch and owned by three families who bought the area for redevelopment two years ago.
Managing director Michael Sleigh says the European-style resort redevelopment is planned to take place over a 10-year period and will cost about $250 million.
Mr Sleigh says the resort will bring in more visitors to the Canterbury area.
He says the company has been in discussion with the Department of Conservation to negotiate a land swap to enable the plans to go ahead.
The company wants to swap about 15 hectares of land near Springfield for 21 hectares of land owned by DoC at the foot of the ski area.
Mr Sleigh says the year-round resort is designed to be environmentally friendly and so far the proposal has received an encouraging response from DoC.
