Carpathian mega-resort denied forest land division, but logging is already under way

Carpathian mega-resort denied forest land division, but logging is already under way OKKO Group
Maria Semenova

The council was not even shown an environmental impact assessment, and local residents complain that their wells and outbuildings ended up on land to be handed over to the investor

The Lviv Oblast Council did not approve the technical documentation under which the future Goro Mountain Resort ski resort was to receive 176 hectares of forest land. These territories were to be withdrawn from the use of "Halsillis". Deputies complain that they were not presented with an environmental impact assessment conclusion, and some say that the forest is already being cut down despite the lack of documents and permits.

This was reported by the media outlet "Espreso".

Support from the authorities

The media note that last year the construction project received preferences from the government. Its position is based on the importance and scale of the investment – $140 million. The resort is to be built by Vitalii Antonov, the founder of OKKO GROUP.

Earlier, the Lviv Oblast Council also took steps to help implement the project. This refers to a number of decisions adopted in February that were intended to facilitate the future division of territories and the withdrawal of communal plots from forest land.

These are forests currently used by the Slavske subsidiary forestry enterprise "Halsillis". The ski resort was to receive territories in Volosianka and Verkhnia Rozhanka in the Slavske community.

The community may lose its forests

According to Ivan Pidhorodetskyi, acting director of the forestry enterprise "Halsillis", once withdrawn from the enterprise's use, the land will remain the property of the oblast council, albeit used by private investors.

However, deputy Mykhailo Batala noted that the agreement provides for a lease with a pre-emptive right to purchase, so the investor may buy this land. He therefore insists on considering public-private partnerships for resorts.

Another issue is that the deputies were not even presented with an environmental impact assessment conclusion.

Nevertheless, construction work on the Goro site is already under way. This was reported by deputy Eduard Leonov, who visited the site of the planned resort. Citing local residents, he reported that trees were being felled.

At the same time, it turned out that a number of residents' outbuildings and wells were located on "Halsillis" land, and people now have problems accessing them. The enterprise admitted that the land plots overlap, and relevant appeals have already been sent to the prosecutor's office.

As a reminder, in Zakarpattia Oblast, land within the Svidovets Ridge and the Krasna mountain pasture was divided into 800 plots in preparation for sale. The media suggest that companies planning to build wind farms and resorts will compete for them.

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