Debate Over Future of 2018 Olympic Downhill
Debate Over Future of 2018 Olympic Downhill
Published : 29-Dec-2018 10:11
The future of the controversial downhill ski slope that was used at the South Korean Winter Olympics earlier this year remains controversial and still to be confirmed.
The Jeongseon Alpine Ski Center, complete with gondola lift, was created especially to host the downhill races at the 2018 Olympics as existing downhill ski runs in the country did not quite have enough vertical to meet the minimum requirements of an Olympic downhill.
The decision to create the centre was controversial because it involved felling hundreds of ancient trees in a previously unspoilt natural location on Mount Gariwang in Gangwon, leading to more than a million people signing a petition objecting to the plan.
The agreement to build the centre required that the area be returned to its natural state after the Olympics and the Gangwon region's authority over the site is due to end with responsibility returned to the Korean Forest Ministry on 31st December, 2018.
However disagreement has emerged as to what exactly should be done with the lift and other infrastructure and who should pay. Although there definitely won't be any snowsports some (the local Gangwon provincial government and Jeongseon County government) are now suggesting the lift is kept operating for sightseeing tours even after trees are re-planted on the Olympic downhill slope.
However Korea's Ministry of Environment and Korea Forest Service still wants the centre to be dismantled and the site restored to the mountain's original environment.
If the lift and other facilities are removed there appears to be a question over who will pay. The centre's creation is reported to have cost around £15m and a similar amount is estimated to be needed to take it out again and return the site to something like its previous state.
Environmental groups also are pointing out that both central and provincial governments originally promised to restore the mountain's ecosystem before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics started.
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