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Billion Dollar Ski Trac Under Construction in Dubai Groundworks have begun in Dubai at the $5bn Dubailand theme park for what it is believed to be the world’s first Ski Trac - an indoor snow dome containing a ‘revolving mountain. The Ski Trac concept has been is that the cone shaped slope revolves using maglev technology (magnetic forces) to support it. The slope passes through a chamber where fresh snow falls on it. The result is a perpetual ski run through fresh powder. The Ski Trac concept was invented in Australia by Kevin Ferris more than a decade ago. In the intervening years there have been several locations in Europe and North America where Ski Trac developments have been proposed, but most of these have foundered, normally because inadequate funding has been found to finance the construction - which in Dubai will be 75m (230 feet) high and 220m (nearly 700 feet) wide. It seemed most likely that Dubai, China or Korea would possibly see the world’s first Ski Trac and there are ongoing plans for Ski Tracs in these and other locations. Announcing the start of construction work at a presentation at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin, Majid Pishyar, president and CEO of the 32Group behind the project said. “We are proud to be part of the future of Dubai, Today, with the ground-breaking ceremony, the work at the site of Snowdome has got into full swing.” Boreholes nearly 200 metres (600 feet) deep are being made to make use of geothermic energy and to allow support of the enormous load of what will be the biggest free-standing dome in the world. The Ski Trac is part of a larger complex covering 1.4 million square feet and named Snowland at the Snowdome in Dubailand. This will offer a snow and ice leisure park and includes a deluxe hotel designed to look like an iceberg. An entry road will take visitors down to themed car parks - deep blue grottos with ice lifts - around the Snowdome. Lifts will bring them to a series of train stations around the Snowdome at ground level. Snowland has been proposed for several years but the impetus to move it forward seems to have gathered pace with the huge success and worldwide publicity of Dubai’s first major indoor snow centre, Ski Dubai, which opened last autumn. Dubailand is Dubai’s answer to Disneyland and will have a range of themed parks, shopping malls, restaurants and lodging. It will be a key part of Dubai’s aim to attract at least 15 million tourists annually by 2010 as the Emirate’s known oil reserves begin to run out. The world’s first Ski Trac is expected to open in Dubai in 2008.