Bulgarian Ski Resorts expand

The Sofia Echo, 12th October 2006

The construction boom that began in Bulgaria’s resort of Bansko a few years ago is rapidly being matched by that in the other two main Bulgarian ski resorts, Borovets and Pamporovo, according to an article in Bulgarian-language daily 24 Chassa.
The increase in prices had attracted an increasing number of investors. The municipalities “willingly” issued permits but the resorts were becoming over-saturated.
Samokov municipality had issued 18 permits for the construction of hotels and villa complexes in Borovets ski resort, 24 Chassa said. Some of the property already had been sold before it was even built, 24 Chassa said.
Samokov municipality would invest nine million leva in infrastructure at Borovets. Construction of new lifts would probably begin in the autumn, the article said. One of the lifts would connect the town of Samokov with Borovets, and the other one would transport tourists higher in the mountain.
A second lift would also be built in Bansko resort next year, 24 Chassa said.
The contractors preferred to build apartment complexes in Bansko. Bansko municipality issued more than 100 permits for such complexes.
Prices of ready and equipped property in the resort varied from 900 to 1200 euro a sq m, 24 Chassa said.
Bansko had 35 hotels, most of them four-star, and a total of 7500 beds in private houses. The number of beds would reach 20 000 in two or three years.
Nearly 500 million euro had been invested in Bulgaria’s third ski resort of Pamporovo, 24 Chassa said. Currently 124 buildings were being constructed in the complex. The amount of construction had risen by 350 per cent.
Pamporovo would have 22 000 beds after the buildings were finished, the article said, but the infrastructure would not be able to cope with this amount of tourists.




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