Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric yesterday opened a hotel on Mt Stara Planina in which €30 million has been invested from the budget, stressing that this is the first Greenfield investment in the domestic tourism in the past 20 years.

At a ceremony, in the presence of a number of guests, Ciric presented Svetislav Popadic, director of public enterprise Stara Planina, with a board displaying the hotel’s four star category.

The hotel spans 26,000 square metres, it has 146 rooms, 380 beds and a wellness and spa centre.

The construction of this hotel shows that a new beginning is possible because people used to leave this part of the country but are now deciding to stay and new houses and restaurants are being erected along the road, Ciric said.

The hotel was constructed in 13 months. There is a new ski gondola to transport skiers to Babin Zub summit and there are 13 kilometres of ski tracks with the system for artificial snow.

Now, along with the winter centres on Mt Kopaonik and Zlatibor, there is this third one on Mt Stara Planina, Ciric said adding that in 2012 the state will continue to invest in this region despite savings measures and budget restrictions.