Slovenia to build artificial island for tourists

[Pirate]

I found this on thephora forum.

October 20, 2006 - 12:02PM


Slovenia, which controls some 30 miles of the Adriatic coastline, plans to build an artificial island by 2020 to attract more tourists, the economy ministry said on Thursday.



"The building is expected to take place between 2013 and 2020, while the total cost is estimated at 100 million euros (67 million pounds)," the ministry's spokeswoman Patricija Sasek told Reuters.

The island will have some 30,000 square metres, roughly the size of a large shopping mall, and would offer beaches, bars, restaurants, a wellness centre and a marina. It will be built with gravel left over after building a nearby road tunnel.

Sasek said the government plans to foot 30 percent of the bill while the rest will be covered by the European Union funds and private investors. Slovenia joined the EU in 2004.

Slovenia's only island - a small but picturesque patch of land with a church on top of it - is on the Bled lake in a popular mountain resort in the northwest of the country.

Tourism accounts for about 5.5 percent of Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) but the government hopes to boost this figure to 10 percent by 2011.

Reuters

Personally I think it's not a bad idea at all. We need ambitious projects like this one, because in the last 50 years we haven't built anything special, so why not build an island?

[Menydh]

7 years ago (or so) I visited Slovenia. I stayed in one beautiful coastal town (not sure if Izola or Piran) one night, and the next night on a town not far from the Italian border. Very nice country.

But I am not sure if building an island is a good idea. They must study very carefully the possible consequences on the coasts.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

7 years ago (or so) I visited Slovenia. I stayed in one beautiful coastal town (not sure if Izola or Piran) one night, and the next night on a town not far from the Italian border. Very nice country.

Both Izola and Piran are beautiful, I was in Piran in August and when I was a child I was to Izola many times.

But I am not sure if building an island is a good idea. They must study very carefully the possible consequences on the coasts.

That's true. However I doubt if they are actually going to build it - the new goverment says it would be completed in 2020 or something like that, so it's a very long-term plan. I doubt that the current goverment will still be in power in 2020.

What kind of consequences do you have in mind?

P.S.: We could also consider building a new parlament, which was designed by architect Plečnik in the first half of last century. This is also not a bad idea.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Franjo Malgaj

That's true. However I doubt if they are actually going to build it - the new goverment says it would be completed in 2020 or something like that, so it's a very long-term plan. I doubt that the current goverment will still be in power in 2020.

That's a problem with multi-party democratic systems. Projects are usually geared towards short-term electoral profits. That makes projects and policies short-term too. Longer tem projects are often announced with the same purpose (short-term electoral profits) but rarely accomplished.

What kind of consequences do you have in mind?

Small as they built it, an island would still be a massive piece of land and it would have to be near to the coast (for an obvious reason: sea depth). It s presence would provoke changes on the sea streams which is the factor that configures the coast lines.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Small as they built it, an island would still be a massive piece of land and it would have to be near to the coast (for an obvious reason: sea depth). It s presence would provoke changes on the sea streams which is the factor that configures the coast lines.

Good point. As I said, it's an ambitious projects, but I believe we need such projects. We are quite successful country and I think we can built this island.