Ally

The great grandson of US automobile pioneer Henry Ford is to build a ski resort in the Himalayas.

Alfred Ford's $250m (£133m) project in northern India has been approved by the Himachal Pradesh state government.

The resort, to be located in the Kullu Valley, will include 700 five-star rooms, 300 chalets and a gondola taking visitors up to 4,300m (14,000ft).

The project had been opposed by residents who feared it would destroy traditional life in the Himalayas.

Winter Olympics

State officials described the scheme as one of the largest single foreign investments in tourism in India.

Mr Ford's company, The Himalayan Ski Village, said the resort would be in keeping with traditional Himalayan architecture.

"The project will involve no displacement of people," said John Sims, the firm's managing director.

Work on the project is expected to begin by the end of the year and will take three years to complete, the company said.

The resort will be built in three stages in mountains overlooking Kullu Valley, near the popular town of Manali.

The village, built with traditional wood-and-stone houses with sloping roofs, will be at an altitude of 2,600m covering more than 100 acres.

A network of ski lifts will open access to slopes extending over more than 6,000 acres and reaching up to 4,300m.

"First we plan to hold international ski tournaments but are aiming to hold nothing less than the Winter Olympics here," said Mr Sims.

(BBC)