New private operators have been shoulder tapped by the Government to run Mt Ruapehu’s Tūroa and Whakapapa ski fields, BusinessDesk reports.

The previous operator, not-for-profit operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), moved into voluntary administration in October, owing about $45 million to the Government, ANZ bank and bondholders in RAL’s Sky Waka gondola.

Since October, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) had fronted up with $8m to get the ski fields ready for this coming season, with ANZ adding a further $2.5m into the pot and life pass holders asked to stump up a transfer fee and three-year levy.

A spokesperson for MBIE’s regional economic development unit said the agency had identified four potential bidders for the business and would make a decision in “due course”.

PwC partner and administrator John Fisk, however, said this had already been whittled down to two bidders.

Read the full BusinessDesk story here.