Italian scientists to draw up mountain skiing project for Altai.

BARNAUL, September 7 (Itar-Tass) - A concept of an integrated mountain
skiing complex on the basis of the Altai resort town of Byelokurikha is to
be worked out by scientists from the respective institutes of the Italian
province of Bolzano-South Tirol, an Altai Territory administration
official has told Itar-Tass.
The project will envisage the construction of networks of ski-lifts
and cable ways, forming an integrated transport system of the resort town.
Main emphasis is to be laid on the environmental friendliness of the
project and the use of alternative sources of electric power. A tentative
cost of the concept is 120,000 euros.
Luis Durnwalder, head of government of the autonomous province,
related during his official trip to Barnaul that by 2020 the province
would switch over fully to the use of ecologically pure sources of
electric power. South Tirol is the world-known health resort territory in
the Dolomite Alps, which attracts about five million tourists every year.
It has 375 ski-lifts which sports enthusiasts use 115 million times per
season.
Durnwalder's opinion is that the use of traditional energy sources is
incompatible with the sphere of tourism. He expressed readiness to share
the province's experience in the development of health-resort business and
in the use of alternative sources of power with the Altai Territory. With
this end in view, a framework agreement on cooperation was signed during
his trip.
Downhill skiing seasons in the Siberian ski resort Byelokurikha,
located in the foothills of the Altai Mountains, begins in December and
ends in April. However, only three main downhill skiing slopes there have
been fitted out for the purpose.