An £150m indoor ski dome and tourism scheme boasting perfect snow conditions for skiing and snowboarding is proposed for Snowdonia.

Outline planning permission has been submitted by Snowdonia Gateway, a joint venture between six local businessmen and Ski Trac International, the Australian company behind the patented snow-making system designed for indoor skiing.

Set in a disused slate quarry in Llanberis, the project proposes year round skiing, an ice-skating canal and a toboggan area. Plans also include a tropical lagoon, beach and scuba diving area, a four or five star hotel, an education centre, shops and restaurants.

Enclosed in a dome structure measuring 240m in diameter and covering an area the size of 10 football pitches, the slope will rotate at 25km per hour, catering for up to 1,800 skiers at a time. It will rotate through a 'mountain covered cold room,' set at -15?C, where its eight inches of powder snow is manufactured with specially designed snow guns.

The Snowdonia Ski-Trac will give a much needed boost to the local economy by creating up to 700 full time jobs, and aims to attract one million visitors a year.

Work begins this month on the first ski complex of this type using Ski Trac technology in Sydney, Australia. The site is due to open in 2004. The company is currently considering several other locations in Europe, America and South East Asia. Details: +44 (0)1248 679003 or www.snowdoniakitrac.com