SAPPORO (Kyodo) Nihon Harmony Resorts K.K., a Japanese unit of Australia-based Harmony Resorts Niseko Pty., said Thursday it will invest 50 billion yen to develop a ski, golf and hot-spring resort in the Niseko area in the Hokkaido town of Kutchan.
Under the project, which will start next summer, a condominium complex that can accommodate 8,000 people and commercial facilities will be constructed near the Niseko Hanazono ski and golf area, the Japanese subsidiary said.
Construction will be completed around 2020, it said.
At a meeting held in Sapporo to brief local people on the project, Nihon Harmony Resorts President Colin Hackworth said the Niseko Hanazono area will become one of the largest resorts in Japan.
Roger Donazzan, the company's chairman, who also attended the meeting, said the resort will be an important project for the community.
The firm wants to elevate the area to a world-class ski and golf resort like Whistler, British Columbia, he said.
Harmony's Japan unit purchased Niseko Hanazono Ski Field from Tokyu Land Corp. last year.