Ski resort construction remains buoyant in Bulgaria despite some signs of a slow down in holiday property purchases that has helped fuel rapid expansion over the past five years.
The latest developments also look likely to be subject to more stringent planning and environmental control following increasing protests from environmental groups over some developments they claim have been built illegally infringing on national parkland and world heritage sites.
The new developments are set to begin within the next six weeks on Rila Mountain, Bulgaria’s highest peak and close to the country’s capital, Sofia.
The first new resort, currently titled ‘Panichishte-Ezerata-Kaboul’envisages expansion of existing facilities from around 1000 to 8000 guest beds with Bulgarian and Russian investment of up to 500 Million Euros by 2015. Rila Sport, the main company behind the development, says all accommodation building will be outside the Rila National Park, although it is not clear if lifts and runs will be within the park. Development is reported to have been elayed for a year due to location disagreements with Rila National Park management.
Work on a second, long delayed project, Super Borovets is expected to begin on October 8th 2007 with a nine kilometre (6 mile) long gondola lift connecting the Samokov and Markudzhitsite areas. More lifts and runs will take the area total up to nearly 100 km (63 miles) of piste. Again the company behind the development, reports their project would not enter in to national park land.
Last month Bulgarian environmental activists made a conga line 200 meters long marching through Sofia’s pedestrian area with a list of demands including protection of the Rila national park, where they said a planned ski piste would encroach on the park’s territory. A Bulgarian court ruled in June that the park did not have clearly defined borders.
The Bulgarian Environment Minister has reportedly said that he will personally supervise the Rila developments to ensure they do not damage national park land.