The resort, in the Rhodopi mountain, will have 7-8 runs with a total length of 12 km, said Kuklen mayor Dimitar Sotirov.

The Kuklen municipality, in Southern Bulgaria, plans to team up with private partners to develop a new ski resort about 35 km from Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city.

The resort, in the Rhodopi mountain, will have 7-8 runs with a total length of 12 km, said Kuklen mayor Dimitar Sotirov.

The highest point in the area is 1 670 m,  catering for a vertical incline of 450 m.

A 20 km gondola ride is also planned from the village of Markovo to Byala Cherkva.

The Plovdiv regional and district courts have both ruled in favor of the Kuklen municipality in a legal dispute over the ownership of 22.6 sq m of forest land. A hearing on the case is scheduled for April 8 at the Supreme Cassation Court.

If the highest court upholds the ruling, the municipality will begin exchanging woodland stock with properties accommodating the ski piste routes.

Sotirov said private investors are already showing interest in the project. He added that the development of the concept for the ski runs and lift and water supply and electricity grids will begin after the court pronounces its final judgment.

No lodges or hotels are planned for the initial phase of resort development.

There is already one 1.1 km ski run and a ski-drag in the Byala Cherkva zone, both the property of Ski Club Plovdiv.