In accordance with the previously set deadlines for the drawing of EU funds, the project worth over 40 million euros is to be finalized in December. "Works are in progress and our contractors have assured us that everything will be completed by the deadline," explained the head of the Planica sports institute Jelko Gros.

Gros predicts that the state will be able to send Brussels everything that has been demanded and draw the promised EU funds for this extensive project at least a month before the end of the year.

Value: 15,5 million euros
The total value of the ski cross-country course is 15,5 million euros, while the ski jumping centre is worth 24 million euros, without VAT. Considering the initial price estimate the value of the project has increased, mostly due to the work on the ground, which has been 400 thousands euros dearer. The jumping hill is finished. The mechanical equipment in the central part of the cross-country course is being installed. A football field is also being prepared. The final equipping of the interior will follow in November. "We have to spend another four million euros by the end of the year," is Gros’s estimate.

The frameworks were developed in 2009, then...
The project which began in 2007 with land purchases is slowly nearing its end. The path to realization was long and difficult. The initial rough plan of what the Nordic centre would look like was made in 2009. An architectural design competition was carried out in 2010. The year 2011 saw the start of work on the Bloudek Giant ski jumping hill. The whole project then came to a halt, until amendments were made to the project plan. Once the amendments were made the construction of the cross-country course also began. The environmental procedures cost the project three years. There were also problems with the purchase of lands and with the open calls for contractors.

Gros is convinced that the whole of Europe will envy Slovenia for its Planica Nordic Centre. He says there is no such centre anywhere in the world. At the same time the whole Upper Sava Valley will benefit from the centre, as there will also be opportunities for attracting guests from Villach and Tarvisio, as well as other nearby places from across the border.

Trainings will be possible throughout the year
It will be possible to practice cross-country skiing in Planica everyday of the year – outdoors in the winter and indoors in the summer. There will also be a track for skateboarding as well as seven kilometers of type-approved courses, linked to the 40 kilometers of recreational courses that can be found in Planica, Kranjska Gora and Tamar. Gros is convinced that they have created so many good products that Planica will become a great magnet for visitors, which will keep returning again and again. To be able to function normally the centre will have to generate around one million euros per year. Almost a third from that figure is to come from tourism. The rest of the income is to come from races and the trainings of athletes.

M. L.; translated by K. J.