Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, who operate the Whakapapa and Turoa fields, went into voluntary administration in late 2022 – and the future of a 2023 season has been in question since.
Now work is underway to prepare for the possibility of skiing on Ruapehu’s fields.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) says funding has been provided to the administrators of RAL to maintain facilities on the mountain.
"The Government, and ANZ Bank, have provided funding assistance to enable the RAL Administrators to maintain the business and assets, and allow for a possible opening of the ski fields for winter 2023," an MBIE spokesperson told 1News.
Robert Krebs from the Ruapehu Ski Fields Stakeholders Association (RSSA) says there’s a lot more work to do before the season starts, and it's unlikely a new company will be able to take over in time.
"I think it's been left too late for a new company and impossible if a decision is to split the fields. Ticketing systems cannot be changed overnight," he said.
Krebs says a watershed meeting needs to be held where life pass holders and other creditors vote on a future plan for the fields – rather than MBIE making the decision.
That meeting is currently set for early next month.
The administrators, PWC, wanted to move the decision date to November to allow this year’s season to go ahead, but a court order only allowed them to extend it from May to June.
RSSA is one of four bids on the table looking to take over the operations of Whakapapa and Turoa.
It comes after Newshub reported this evening that MBIE has made the decision to split the two fields and have separate operators for each.
Krebs says that wouldn't be the right decision.
"Nothing is a done deal yet. RSSA are still planning to win this. Not appropriate for MBIE to write of taxpayers' money – aka the MBIE debt – and then give the assets in a dual heritage national park to privateers," he said.
By Leo Zaugg
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