Ski centres throughout Scotland are to be upgraded following an investment of £5.5m. The funding has been made available via the Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Enterprise.

The organisations are providing 75% of the funding, with the remaining amount coming from the ski centres.

At Glenshee, £2.47m will be used to replace the existing chair lifts at the centre, while £1.89m will be used at Glencoe for the same upgrades. The Lecht and Nevis Range will spend £456,000 and £707,000 respectively on upgrades to their current tow lifts. Meanwhile, Cairngorm Mountain Ltd has already upgraded its infrastructure following support from HIE.

Fergus Ewing, Enterprise and Tourism Minister, said: "The snowsports sector is very important for Scotland's rural economy and is worth an estimated £30 million per year, supporting over 600 jobs.

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"Our ski centres bring many tourists to Scotland and this considerable investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise, who have worked together with the centres to identify their needs, will provide the necessary support to ensure the sector's long term viability."

Charlotte Wright, HIE business and sector development director, added: "The ski and snow sports sector is hugely important to the Highland and Scottish economy. The sector has tremendous potential for further growth and the companies operating these centres have the ambition to pursue that potential.

"Our role is to help them do that for the benefit of the region's and the country's economy. The investment will allow the businesses to attract more visitors and offer a better experience with enhanced facilities."

Mark McMullen, team leader from Scottish Enterprise, commented: "We are pleased to be supporting this project at Glenshee as it will help further develop Scotland's snowsports experience by opening up higher altitude snowfields and will undoubtedly help retain domestic skiers on Scotland's slopes whilst hopefully encouraging more international snowsport enthusiasts to sample what Scotland has to offer."

HIE is investing £2.273m in the schemes; with £342,000 to support the upgrade of ageing assets at the Lecht in the Eastern Cairngorms, £1.4m for Glencoe and £531,000 for Nevis Range. Scottish Enterprise is providing a £1.86m grant to upgrade facilities at Glenshee in Aberdeenshire.

(JP/IT)