site.btaStakeholders Favouring and Opposing Bansko Ski Area Development Fail to Reach Consensus at Public Discussion

Stakeholders Favouring and Opposing
Bansko Ski Area Development Fail to
Reach Consensus at Public Discussion


Sofia, March 7 (BTA) - Bansko concessionaire Ulen will be required to prepare a selective cadastral map and create and maintain a register of the ski area facilities, Bulgarian Environment and Water Minister Ivelina Vassileva said at a news conference here on Monday. She took part in a three-hour-long public discussion with cabinet members, MPs and representatives of institutions, local government, pro-development and environmental organizations, and the concessionaire Ulen on all scenarios for the future of the Bansko ski area.

The requirement will be elaborated by a working group which a representative of the NGOs will be invited to join, Vassileva explained. The idea is to incorporate the requirement into the amended concession contract, she specified.

In the Environment Minister's words, the results of Monday's discussion will be considered by the Government and reported to the Prime Minister. She admitted that no consensus was reached at the meeting and called on the environmentalists, who disagreed with the institutions' positions during the discussion, to adopt a nationally responsible approach in formulating their stand on the matters at issue.

Vassileva specified that the State, represented by the Council of Ministers, is a party to the concession contract and, in this capacity, should adopt a decision on amending the contract and mandate the Environment Minister to carry it out.

Following are the positions expressed by the participants in the discussion.

Central and Local Government

Several government ministers argued that terminating the concession contract with Ulen is the worst-case scenario and will cause huge detriment to the State.

Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova: "The direct losses will amount to hundreds of millions of leva, and more will be lost indirectly from the damaged image and prospects for investment in tourism. Bansko offers the best value for money in winter tourism, but winter tourism in Bulgaria in general is badly underdeveloped."

Environment and Water Minister Ivelina Vassileva: "According to UNESCO's latest findings, the recent improvements of the skiing facilities in the buffer zone have not affected the unique value of the natural heritage in Mt Pirin. UNESCO recommended to Bulgaria to limit the development of skiing tourism to the Bansko and Dobrinishte buffer zones, and we strictly adhere to these recommendations."

Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski: "The Economy Ministry supports the development of skiing infrastructure complying with the laws and respecting the environment."

Youth and Sports Minister Krassen Kralev: "It is important for Bulgarian athletes in winter sports to be able to practise in Bulgaria. Athletes play an important part in popularizing Bulgaria's image and making it recognizable across the world."

Bansko Mayor Georgi Ikonomov: "While we are arguing over the concession contract, ski areas are being set up in neighbouring countries, and they attract our tourists. Clearly, the existing concession contract cannot remain as it is, but termination is absurd because this will be the end of Bansko which is Bulgaria's hallmark in skiing tourism and directly employs 37 per cent of the [local] population. Termination of the contract would close the ski area for at least five years, which is not a nationally responsible step. If there are any irregularities, let the control authorities penalize them, but let us go ahead."

Other executive officials said that checks have found no unlawful construction within the perimeter of the Bansko ski area, that, judging from case-law, building sports facilities in the Pirin Park is not against the law, and that there is no substantial non-performance of the obligations under the concession contract that would justify its termination.

Parliament

National Assembly Regional Policy Committee Chairman Nayden Zelenogorski: "Scrapping the concession agreement is the most undesirable option. A balanced solution is needed, to allow the region to develop in an environment-friendly way and in keeping with legislative standards, including those of the EU. Still, the public wants answers and sanctions may have to be imposed, if necessary, and the contract terminated in conformity with national legislation and the interests of the State, the region and the environment."

National Assembly Economic Policy Committee Chairman Peter Kunev: "Clearly, there has clearly been a distortion of the concession, and a balanced solution is needed."

National Assembly Environment Committee Chairman Stanislav Ivanov: "The first 92 of the top 100 companies listed on the global stock markets are registered in offshore zones. The concessionaire observes environmental legislation, and the Bansko ski area is checked on a regular basis." Ivanov reacted to environmentalists' criticism that Ulen is an offshore company with a humble Cypriot listed as its nominal owner.

Environmentalists

The environmentalists asked that before the Government goes ahead with renegotiating the terms of the concession, its benefits should be analyzed, the ownership of the facilities should be sorted out, and the need of amending the contract should be considered yet again.

Association of Parks Chairman Toma Belev: "If there is a problem and the State admits it, let it be addressed within the law, and if it is found that this is impossible or that the contract has cancelled out its right, let the facilities be sold to third parties and let termination go ahead. The Government subsidizes sports in the Bansko ski area by 14 million leva and is paid a concession royalty of 2 million leva. It turns out that the State pays the concessionaire to operate within the concession area. The correct solution is to make the analysis first and decide later whether the contract should be amended or terminated. It became clear that the ski runs are not rated, there are no assessments, this raises the issue of how skiers' insurance is calculated. The concession royalties are the least problem, they are negligible compare to the State aid awarded to Ulen."

Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism Chairman Lyubomir Popyordanov: "The tourism industry in Bansko creates low-paid jobs for the local people. Small and medium-sized hotels cannot buy ski passes for their guests, which results in unfair competition. Contrary to the commitment it has assumed, the concessionaire does not extend preferential treatment to pupils and students, offering them a discount of just 10 per cent. We expect the Council of Ministers to apply the law to the violations that have already been detected and to determine whether to continue the contract or terminate it with the respective consequences."

Concessionaire

Ulen lawyer Peter Petrov: "As far as Ulen is concerned, termination of the contract would be the most lucrative option because a clause in the contract provides that upon unilateral termination the State would have to refund all investments made in treble amount. A little over 100 million leva have been invested so far. Indirect losses and gains foregone will approximate 200 million leva. Ulen is ready to renegotiate the contract because the parameters of the transaction need to be settled, especially concerning the space of the protected areas used."

The Institute for Market Economics estimates the direct losses from a rescission of the contract at 285 million leva, and the estimate of the interagency working group dealing with the case is 100 million leva.

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On February 24, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that he was even ready to opt for a rescission of the concession for the ski area unless the contending stakeholders reach a consensus.

Environmentalists and pro-development groups, including Ulen and local business executives, have been locked in a war of words over the fate of the Bansko ski area (Southwestern Bulgaria). The environmentalists accuse Ulen of using a territory that is twice larger than what the concession allows and of damaging the environment. Ulen deny any wrongdoing and say the 2011 concession contract is too unclear and lends itself to various interpretations. They also accuse environmentalists of blocking the development of winter sports, of Bansko and local businesses.

The Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism has said in a statement that "thanks to a series of governance blunders, incompetence and dubious business practices, the local administrations, not without the connivance of central government, tolerated a huge building development in the entire Razlog Valley. The present queues at the gondolas are a result precisely of this short-sighted policy, and the proposals of Bansko's Mayor and the newly formed citizen pressure groups, posing as proponents of local people's interests, seek a complete revamping of the park and a modification of its Management Plan and serve to legitimize the violations of the law committed by the concessionaire, not without the tacit consent of the Ministry of Environment and Water and other control authorities, and to cater for the interests of investors in real estate that comprises the ghost city overlooking Bansko and Razlog."

Last year, an interagency working group proposed a solution, including an increase of the concession royalties paid by Ulen in exchange for expanding the concession area and waiving any irregularities in the construction of the skiing facilities.

The actual owner of Ulen is widely believed to be Tseko Minev, the co-owner of First Investment Bank and President of the Bulgarian Skiing Federation.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov personally supports Ulen's plans for building a second gondola in Bansko to end the long wait for skiers using the only gondola from the town of Bansko to the ski area. According to the PM, many other senior officials, including President Rosen Plevneliev, have been lobbying for a second gondola.

Borissov said, though, that "we can't afford to cross out the Pirin Park". The Pirin National Park, which borders on the ski area, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ulen hopes to have parts of the park excluded from the UNESCO list to make possible the expansion of the ski area. PK/LN, DS, LG