A new ski centre is being built in Turkey in readiness for the 2011 Universiade Winter Games which will be staged there next February in the ancient city of Erzurum.

The new resort will stage Super-G, Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super Combined Alpine ski races.

The new ski area, Konakli, will be the second for the city along with the established resort of Palandoken which will host snowboarding events. 

Four new chairlifts, a triple and three quads, are due to be built, the longest 1.77km in length.  There will also be the downhill ski runs, snowmaking and base facilities including service stations, ski shop and ski school and kids club building.

Palandoken was established as one of Turkey’s largest and most modern ski areas in the 1990s and was about to attract package tours from Western Europe when the Iraq war began. Erzurum is located in Eastern Turkey and less than 200km (125 miles) from Iran, Iraq and Syria.  Azerbaijan and Georgia.
It will also get new lifts – three quad chairs, plus snowmaking.

www.universiadeerzurum.org