Northern Romania town relaunches Olympic ski slope project

The City Hall of Borsa, a town in Maramures county, Northern Romania, has relaunched a project aimed at building an Olympic ski slope in the area, an idea that was first brought up in the 1940s. In addition to building the longest ski slope in Romania, the project, which requires an investment of about EUR 10 million, also includes a cable transport facility with a capacity of 1,800 people per hour, a snow-making system, and a nocturnal lights installation, local Mediafax reported. “The first idea of an Olympic ski slope was brought up in the 1940s when, in Borsa, the members of a sports club began building a tourist resort for winter sports, which would have hosted the Winter Olympics in 1948. The war stopped the project, which was then resumed several times by the communist authorities in the 1960s, as well as after the year 2000, but various problems were encountered,” said Sorin Timis, the mayor of Borsa. The full project is to be submitted to the Ministry of Tourism after February 15. The authorities hope to sign the financing contract in the spring, which would mean that the works could begin this year. The slope may thus become functional by the 2019/2020 season. Once completed, it will be able to host both local and international ski competitions, according to the mayor. Mayor Sorin Timis also said that this idea is part of a larger project of Borsa City Hall, which is estimated at EUR 70-100 million and includes eight more cable transport installations, the construction of an arena for biathlon and cross-country skiing, and a trampoline complex. Thus, the ski area would total 25 km. Govt. plans to build biggest ski resort in Romania Skiing in Romania’s Sureanu Mountains, the Switzerland of the East Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com