The Valley View quad project, which will cost several millions of dollars, will give the field more chairlifts than any other South Island mountain.
The Turoa field in the North Island has five chairlifts; it has more terrain than Cardrona.
The quad to operate on the fourth Cardrona run was previously called the Captains Quad but was replaced by a high-speed $5.9 million Poma chairlift in 2007.
It has been in storage.
The Valley View quad provides a 600m vertical drop and extends the terrain from the bottom of the Whitestar lift down to the "Speed Straight" section of the skifield access road, where a new car park will be built for season-pass holders.
The new position increases Cardrona's lift-serviced vertical areas by 250m and increases the ski area to 345ha.
As part of the development, the resort plans to build a downhill course, named Goldrush, to International Skiing Federation (FIS) standards.
This will require a 40m-long tunnel giving uninterrupted access from the Captains Express to the bottom of the Whitestar Express.
Field manager Gary Husband said yesterday the chairlift needed some redesigning and engineering to fit its new site and new drive equipment would be obtained.
Phase two of the project would be to introduce snowmaking machines to the area next summer, after staff assessed natural snow conditions on the lower mountain in the coming winter.
"We need to work with it for a year, get a feel for suitable locations for those guns and determine how much needs servicing with snow-making," Mr Husband said.
