New ski center of Bansko

Bansko will meet the winter season with a new ski center. The construction is not finished yet. Two helicopters are provided to help with the construction work as the site is very steep. The first phase of the project, amounting to 8.2 million Euros is expected to be finished by the end of the year. At that time the new cabin lift, which is 6300 m long, will be started. It will be for 6 persons from the Banderishka Polyana to the Shiligarnika and for 4 persons to the Todorka Peak. The ski center will be completed by 2005. According to the construction plans, totally 11 lifts will be started on a zone of 100 hectare in the higher part of the Pirin Mountain as well as two new skiing tracks - Shiligarnika and Banderitsa; the Old skiing track will be corrected, the Children’s track will be made longer and the skiing track on the Plateau will be widened. In this way the sports infrastructure above Bansko will be completed. The project provoked some disturbance amongst the representatives of several ecological organizations, but finally it was approved by the government and UNESCO. One of the arguments was that the new skiing center would take only 0.2 % of the territory of the Pirin National Park. The local people also support the project because they expect greater interest by West European skiers in the Bulgarian winter resorts during the forthcoming seasons. ...see the latest news and information on this