The President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the New Ski Building in the Sun Valley area of Troodos on Saturday, January 28, 2023.
In his greeting, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Slope Club, Dinos Lefkaritis, expressed his thanks to the President of the Republic of Cyprus, who with his important help in securing the required funds contributed decisively to making the construction possible. As Mr. Lefkaritis mentioned, the realization of the New Ski Building is achieved after many years of efforts and consultations of all the Boards of Directors of the Group. “With its completion, the area will be transformed into a dream landscape which we believe will be a pole of attraction for even more ski enthusiasts and for countless visitors”, he emphasized.
In his statements, the President of the Republic expressed shame for the current state of the facilities at the Troodos ski resort. As he pointed out, he shares the vision of the Cyprus Ski Club for a modern ski center and for this reason the government supported the implementation of this project, so that it would be an ornament and a point of reference. The state has decided to support the construction of the project with a sponsorship of 2 million euros and the Snow Slopes Group to contribute with 1.5 million euros. At the same time, he noted that due to legal and technical problems, the implementation of the project was delayed, admitting that his initial expectations were to inaugurate the construction of the project today. Finally, he emphasized that there will be no setback for the implementation of the project and the determination to create the project will never change.
The Ski Center in Troodos has been operating since 1960 until recently with minimal changes and improvements. The construction of the new building is expected to significantly upgrade the area and the sport of skiing. The chain-like positive effects of this upgrade include the increase of winter and sports tourism, the enrichment of the winter tourism product, the promotion of domestic tourism, the activation of mountain communities and the support of their economies, the social and sporting activity of young people in the mountainous areas, and the upgrading of the sporting presence of Cyprus at an international level.
The building will have a total area of 1082 square meters and will include a ski rental shop, conference room and dining areas. All areas of the building are accessible to Persons with Disabilities (PWD). The project is expected to significantly upgrade the area and help reduce the negative effects of seasonality.
