Bulgarian Government Acts to Make Illegal Resort Development Legal

Bansko Protestors in Sofia

The rather murky world of Bulgarian ski resort development came in to some focus a few weeks ago when the World Wildlife Fund report that hundreds of people joined a protest in central Sofia to voice their concern over a planned amendment of legislation proposed by the Bulgarian government to cover up construction violations of Bansko Ski Zone over the past decade, built in the heart of Pirin National Park.
It has emerged that over the past 10 years, Bansko Ski Zone has been constructed on a territory larger than the one designated by the concession contract, which makes around 40% of it illegal.
Much of the illegal building has taken place on national park land which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site leading to tyhe involvement of the EC and UNESCO who have threatened penalties over the year, although so far there has been no sign of these happening.
Environment minister Nona Karadzhova has said that rather than ask that the illegally built ski lifts and buildings are removed, the government plans to solve the problem by amending the Concession Law so that the unlawfully built ski facilities on close to 647,000 m2 would become retrospectively legal.
The concession contract for Bansko Ski Zone was signed in 2001 with the concession rights given to Yulen JSCo., whose present major shareholders are two offshore companies as well as Bansko municipality. The offshore businesses lack any transparency as to who runs them but it has been alleged that their ultimate boss may be the head of the Bulgarian Ski Federation.
"If the law is amended, this would mean that the government is letting a private company usurp state land instead of punishing the offender", said Vesselina Kavrakova, Programme Manager of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in Bulgaria. "This move would show support for the destruction of Bulgaria's protected areas and encourage breaking the law when it comes to nature conservation, This would be completely against the principles of EU environmental protection."
Pirin National Park is a part of the EU's environmental network NATURA 2000 and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The European Commission is currently investigating illegal construction of ski runs and facilities on the territory of the park after 2007, when Bulgaria became a EU member. Meanwhile, UNESCO have declared that if construction violations go ahead, they will designate Pirin National Park a World Natural Heritage site in danger.
National parks and reserves in Bulgaria represent exclusive state land and are the territories most protected by law. Their entire ownership belongs exclusively to the state and hence to the Bulgarian people.
Pirin National Park has unique natural resources such as 120 year old pine forests, including the oldest tree on the Balkan peninsula – Baikushev's pine with an approximate age of 1,300 years.


WWF is calling on the Bulgarian government to take charge of the illegally built installations for the benefit of the state and begin to recultivate the land.

A little too late now! Bankso is like Benidorm in the mountains. Used to be a lovely old traditional town but now the apartments and hotels sprawl everywhere! Knowing how much corruption there is in Bulgaria, very little will now be done to remove illegal buildings. However, a new law brought in does mean that any buildings not completed within 5 years, of which there are thousands, can be torn down, whether built legally or illegally.

Very simple rule applies here: Bulgaria - skiing - No

Tony_H wrote:Very simple rule applies here: Bulgaria - skiing - No

Quite right Tony. In fact Bulgaria should be added to "The Never List"!

Corruption like this exists in the UK, perhaps in different ways, and on slightly different scales. Tony H is an expert in places he has never been to, that is well known. But you, FQ, you are a highly rated J2 man, have you been to Bulgaria?

Dave Mac wrote:Corruption like this exists in the UK, perhaps in different ways, and on slightly different scales. Tony H is an expert in places he has never been to, that is well known. But you, FQ, you are a highly rated J2 man, have you been to Bulgaria?

Yes that's right, I am an expert on all places I've never been to. So, anyone wants to know anything about Bangkok, Bangalore, Banchory or Bansko - just let me know.
:roll:

Dave Mac wrote: But you, FQ, you are a highly rated J2 man, have you been to Bulgaria?

:oops: :oops: Wow, thanks for that. In answer to the question, yes I have been to Bulgaria. I had the misfortune to go on a trip to Borovets a few years ago.

It was the worst trip I have ever been on, and had it not been for the fact we were with a group of 20 on a "Stag" week, it would have been a complete washout. The snow was appaling, and whilst I cannot blame that on the country, what I did have an issue with was that the pisteurs had basically given up and were not even trying to move snow around despite the large numbers of people there to ski.

The food was generally of a poor standard, the equipment was out of the 70's both lift wise and to hire for use (no way anyone was going to ruin their own skis on the slopes we could get on).

Finally, whilst the people were friendly enough, the constant issue of being accosted by salesmen every time you walked past a shop, bar or restaurant got to be a bit annoying.

Two of our group were assaulted by local heavies after leaving a club late one night, and we were advised to simply forget it had happened for our safety.

Personally, I doubt very much if I will ever return to Bulgaria for a holiday.

Apologies for turning this thread into a bit of a Bulgaria bash. I am sure there are those who have had a great time out there and would swear the complete opposite of what I have just stated, equally I am sure there are plenty who are happy to return there, but not me.

Much respect for that FQ. That is just about the worst ski report I have read, what a bummer. I do agree about the food, but I have had worse in France. The lift system was old. I guess I just took account of the country emerging from Soviet control. I thought the locals were engaging, (but not in the way your guys were engaged!)
The snow conditions and runs were pretty good for us, and the ski school was as good as most Euro places.