A New Lift is Being Constructed at Bansko, outside the concession in Pirin National Park

What is outrageous in this case is that construction has been started in haste, regardless of the absence of Eco-Ministry permission for widening the path by cutting old-growth trees and despite the ongoing inspection by the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor’s Office on this case.

The project for a new 6-seat lift under Todorka Peak was suspended back in 2011 by the previous government of Boiko Borisov on account of violation of the concession contract for Bansko ski zone and of the management plan of Pirin National Park. In 2014, however, at the end of its mandate, Plamen Oresharski Government allowed Marengo Trading to build, and thus the offshore company was granted a termless right to construction within the concession of Yulen AD and on a territory which is exclusive state property, i.e. Pirin National Park. The decision was taken by the DPS eco-minister, Stanislav Anastasov, who is now under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office on this.

Photos on site have exposed the lie of the offshore that during construction of the new lift only new-growth trees would be cut within the cutting the existing lift. In practice, it turns out that for the construction of the new lift were marked for logging nearly 90 trees of Macedonian pines and spruce trees nearly a century old. The Ministry of Environment and Water has not issued a logging license for widening the cutting of the existing lift.

In relation to this, an official request has been made to the Cadaster Agency and the Ministries of Regional Development and of the Environment to check how and with whose help the offshore company has recovered the construction papers of the existing Todorka lift not only without having property rights in the Park, but also at servitude of 34 decares, which is double that of the official servitude of the lift, 19.3 decares as per the concession contract.

The coalition “Let Nature Remain in Bulgaria” warns that if the State refuses to break the shady deal of DPS and the criminal seizure of land in Pirin National Park by an offshore company, this will transfer political responsibility for failure to adhere to the laws in Pirin National Park from Oresharski Government to the incumbent Borisov Government.

Photos of the initiated construction: https://www.facebook.com/forthenature.org/posts/888430011194752