A touristic project is underway in the North, from Sir-Dinniyeh to Bqaasifrin, extending over 70,000 square meters (m2) at a total cost of $36 million, to include a five-star hotel, a chairlift line, and a ski center. Implementation will be divided into three phases. Works have begun and the first stage is slated to finish in the summer.
The project is implemented in partnership between the touristic company, Téléférique Sir and the Municipality of Bqaasifrin. It begins with a 16,000 m2 area at Sir-Dinniyeh and ends with a 53,000 m2 at the arrival area. The ski line will extend over 1.1 million meters of municipality-owned land.
Mounir Kanj, Chairman of the Bqaasifrin Municipal Council, said: “The region draws tourists and expatriates during the summer. We are looking to attract them in the winter.”
The first phase includes a 40-room luxury hotel, an artificial lake, a restaurant, a telescope center, and a cafeteria atop an area of 700 meters in height. The cost of the first stage is $11 million, including the price the 2,000 meters of land and will be finished this summer.
The second phase includes chairlifts and restaurants, chalets, villas, and a market, for a total cost of $14 million. “Determining the starting date of the second stage is linked to increasing the company’s capital next summer,” said Mohammad Fatfat, Vice President of Téléférique Sir.
The third phase, to cost $11 million, will include a ski center on top of Mount Makmel, which is 2,200 to 2,750 meters in altitude. “It is higher than any other ski center in the country,” said Fatfat.
businessnews.com.lb
18 February
