The Vitosha accidents have to stop, while the state institutions need to do their job

What led to these accidents?

The lifts and skiing terrains in Vitosha Nature Park are not subjects of concession. The ,,Vitosha Ski’’ offshore company only owns the equipment, while it rents the terrain parks from the state forestry enterprise. Some of the lifts (the ill-fated ,,Simeonovo – Aleko’’ gondola lift, the ,,Bai Krastio – Goli Vrah’’ chairlift and the ,,Knyazhevo – Kopitoto’’ gondola lift) were sold to ,,Vitosha Ski’’ by the Sofia Municipality at the time when Prime Minister Boiko Borisov was mayor of Sofia. The rest of the ,,Aleko’’ lifts and rope tows were privatized by the state and then sold to ,,Vitosha Ski’’.

According to the Vitosha Nature Park management action plan and the Forest Act, the old lifts and rope tows can be replaced in the same trenches, but not in the same steps as the public is misled into believing. The replacement hasn’t been carried out by the owner since 2007, for which the preservationists have been falsely accused.

The Vitosha lifts owner’s plans for a brand-new ski zone with lifts and slopes on various routes, are well-known. However, the planned ski zone does not comply with the law – it sets various restrictions in order to protect the nature park from complete urbanization. The construction of a new ski zone and slopes would allow the owner to establish a full monopoly through having a grip on the lifts, ski schools and the food and recreation establishments.

On the other hand, according to art.154 and 157 of the Tourism Act, the owner of the ski equipment has to ensure the upkeep of the ski slopes and terrains, as well as the safety of the lifts. The avalanche fell on ,,the Wall’’ above ,,Aleko’’, which is a terrain park. Four installations can be found there – two rope tows and the ,,Romanski’’ lift, which belong to ‘’Vitosha Ski’’, and one state rope tow – ,,Zaeka’’, owned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. If the terrain is trampled by the slope processing machines, the risk of avalanche occurrence decreases significantly.

At the same time, the state institutions don’t seem interested in addressing the issue of out of order equipment. The Ministry of Youth and Sports, which is the owner of ,,Zaeka’’ rope tow, had lent it to the Bulgarian Ski Federation, which in turn has lent it to its partner ,,Vitosha Ski’’. It’s an open secret that the president of the ski federation is the owner of almost all Vitosha lifts, as well as the Bansko ski zone. During the unfortunate rental, the equipment was seriously damaged. However, the Ministry of Youth and Sports just waited for the rental to expire instead of cancelling the contract or obliging the tenant to fix the rope tow.
Since then, the Ministry hasn’t invested a single lev in fixing the lift, therefore the children can’t learn to ski for an affordable price.

Sofia Municipality has not yet given an account of the ways to execute the privatization contract of the equipment sold to ,,Vitosha Ski’’ in 2007. As set forth in the contract, ,,Vitosha Ski’’ had to invest in the repair and maintenance of the equipment, as well as prolong the ski zone’s activity. According to our information, these obligations are not being fulfilled.

All ski lift incidents down the years clearly indicate that even the ones currently in use aren’t being kept in good condition. There’s a real possibility of a rope or seat falling on a passing tourist, but this could be prevented. According to art.195 of the Spatial Planning Act, the mayor of the municipality has to issue a precept, obliging the owner of the equipment to undertake the necessary repairs and restorations within a specified period of time in order to fix the lifts and rope tows, and if the owner fails to comply or it’s impossible to do so - to issue a precept for their removal.

The state institutions usually turn a blind eye to the violations committed in the ,,Aleko’’ ski zone. When an ,,unknown perpetrator’’ uprooted 20 decares of newly planted forest, which by some coincidence is located on a projected, but ultimately unapproved, ski slope, all the institutions did was fire the lower-ranked rangers.

7 years ago, instead of the projected, authorized translocation of 19 moraines, bulldozers appeared on the scene and dug a new ski slope through the Vitosha stone rivers to connect the ,,Sinyata Pista’’ and ,,Vitoshko Lale’’ slopes, but the state turned a blind eye once again. There are other examples as well.

Question is: for how long?

The problem is the state and municipality do not want to declare themselves as owners and do not seek law enforcement, leaving everything to some form of self-regulation and chaos, which only serves the interests of the monopolies. This allows the oligarchic interests to do whatever they like in Vitosha Nature Park and manipulate public opinion. According to the sociological surveys, it irritates the people no end. They expect decisive action, justice and supremacy of the law. Their absence only showcases the corruption’s role, which in turn stokes public tension.

Additional information:
Public procurement for repairing the ,,Zaeka’’ rope tow:
http://mpes.government.bg/Pages/Contracts/Default.aspx?evntid=zFMx%2bQIqepc%3d