Ski slopes, artificial snow systems, accommodation facilities, parking lots, ski lifts, cable cars, catering facilities, as well as mountain lodges is foreseen in the development plant of the Popova Shapka Ski Center, presented Monday by TechnoAlpin, an Italian company, after being approved by the government.

Environment Minister Naser Nuredini pointed out that the area of Popova Shapka, as part of National Park Shar Planina, is intended to be a buffer zone, aiming at socio-economic development and utilization of the opportunities offered by the Popova Shapka ski center.

The development plan consists of 7 phases of realization, and the first one is planned for the next 5 years with the integration of the existing facilities of Popova Shapka and the construction of new ski slopes and cable cars.

The existing slopes will be integrated, and further, 16 new ski slopes will be built and the ski center will be developed towards the northern part. 9 new cable cars will be built, and two of them will be built at the beginning of the implementation of the project. In the first phase, the artificial snow systems will be built, fully automated and connected to the TechnoAlpin software, which will guarantee the opening of the season at the beginning of December, and the closing of the ski season at the end of March. Furthermore, our plan includes the construction of 2 mountain lodges with a capacity of 160 beds. It is important to use not only the winter season but also the summer season, so we would invest in the construction of alpine cable cars that will be close to the lakes as well as new bicycle paths, the TechnoAlpin company points out.

Within the framework of the investment plan is the construction of a new cable car (gondola) from Tetovo to Popova Shapka, as well as three new parking lots, which would solve the issue of safe transportation to the ski center and avoid traffic congestion.