site.btaSofia Municipality Proposes Memorandum of Cooperation for Restoration of Lifts in Vitosha Nature Park

Sofia Municipality proposes a Memorandum of Cooperation for the development of Vitosha Nature Park with the aim of restoring and modernizing the lifts, improving access to the mountain and building a sustainable environmentally friendly infrastructure, the municipality's press centre said on Tuesday.

The Memorandum is addressed to key state institutions and stakeholders, including the Council of Ministers, the ministries of Agriculture and Food, Environment and Water, Youth and Sports, the Executive Forestry Agency, the Vitosha Nature Park Directorate and Vitosha Ski AD.

In the memorandum, Sofia Municipality makes specific commitments to achieve the set goals and improve access to Vitosha Nature Park, including to ensure the preparation of Detailed Development Plans for the easements of the routes of the lift facilities on the territory of the nature park and to construct a new starting station of the Simeonovski lift. The construction of an intermodal hub with a parking lot, which will serve as a starting point for access to the mountain, is planned as well.

The discussion and editing process of the Memorandum will be transparent and based on dialogue, the Municipality emphasized, adding that its success depends on the active participation and agreement of all institutions. "The successful modernization of the lifts is a project that everyone involved should be very proud of, because this mountain is an incredible asset for our city," Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev wrote on Facebook.

A public discussion is upcoming on the update of the Management Plan for Vitosha Nature Park. The plan will be published for public discussion on December 2.