Financial Times Europe - 02.11.2019 - 03.11.2019

6 ★ FTWeekend 2 November/3 November 2019

House Home

G

emsstock, a ski vantage

point beloved by off-piste

schussers high in the

Alps, towers above the

sleepy Swiss village of

Andermatt. In winter, residents are

woken to the sound of dynamite as the

slopes are cleared of excess snow to pre-

ventavalanches.

There is plenty of old-time charm

here.Andermatt was spared the “sins

of construction” of the 1960s and

1970s — the slabby concrete resorts that

dominate the Alps, and the locals have a

reputation for protecting their idyll

from overdevelopment. In the 1930s,

they opposed a hydropower plant that

would have flooded the valley — and,

according to local legend, chased away

the company that proposed the plan

withpitchforks.

Yet today a new Andermatt is under

construction, one of shiny apartment

blocks, chic restaurants and luxury

hotels.Thetownhastwonewhotels:the

Chedi,whichopenedin2013,andRadis-

son Blu Reussen, which started opera-

tions last winter; a concert hall, golf

course, the SkiArena — a linked ski area

of 180km between Andermatt, Sedrun

and Disentis with new or restored infra-

structure — and eight completed apart-

ment blocks, with a further 34 planned.

Two restaurants will open soon on the

slopes above. Even more hotels, apart-

mentsandprivatechaletsaretocome.

The development is part of the

broader SFr1.8bn (€1.6bn)Andermatt

SwissAlpsdevelopmentproject,funded

by Samih Sawiris, an Egyptian business-

man, and Orascom Development,

which builds and operates resorts in

Egypt, Montenegro, Switzerland and

elsewhere. Orascom is Sawiris’s family

company,whichhechairs.

Andermatt, within reach of Zurich,

Basel and Milan airports, is the biggest

new Alpine development, under way at

a time when the winter sports industry

€1.6bn

Andermatt Swiss Alps

development project investment

€118m

Cost of SkiArena

10

Andermatt’s place in the Savills

Ski Resilience Index

At more than 1,400m above sea level,

snow is more reliable here thanin

St Moritz and Verbier, according to the

Savills Ski Report. Last year, Andermatt

was the biggest mover up theSavills Ski

Resilience Index, which measures qual-

ity and reliability — from 45th to 10th.

On a good winter’s day the town’spopu-

lationof1,500isswelledbyupto14,000

skiers, and over the course of the seven-

month season, around 400,000 people

willskiintheresort.

Sawiris first came here in 2005 as a

consultant to the local government ot

advise onthe resort’s development. His

plans were so ambitious the Swiss gov-

ernment was not confident anyone

wouldtaketheprojecton.Sohedid.

“Andermatt’s central location — right

in the midst of the granite mountains of

the Swiss Alps — and the realisation that

nooneelsecouldredevelopandsavethe

resort—allinspiredme,”hesays.

(Above) The

Andermatt

Reuss

development;

(left) the Après-

Ski train

Valentin Luthiger

Vision in the valley

Switzerland property Andermatt|

is undergoing an ambitious

overhaul to bring it up to date while

preserving its Alpine environment.

ByAleksandra Wisniewska

is under pressure. The number of ski

visits worldwide has remained broadly

static since 2000, according to theLau-

rant Vanat International Report on

Snow and Mountain Tourism, and cli-

mate change has shortened the Alpine

ski season as snow coverage becomes

lessreliable,evenathighaltitude.

Nevertheless, Sawiris is optimistic he

can make the resort a year-round desti-

nation,andhasintroducedflexiblepric-

ing on the ski pass and an environmen-

tally conscious approach to resort man-

agement — all of which are important

forattractingyoungadults,hesays.

Ski Special

NOVEMBER 2 2019 Section:Weekend Time: 10/201930/ - 17:46 User: elizabeth.robinson Page Name:RES6 , Part,Page,Edition:RES , 6, 1