Gondolas will connect three famous towns. Huge investment in the cable car

• Polskie Koleje Linowe is planning to build the Muszyna-Szczawnik-Wierchomla Family Winter and Summer Recreation Complex in the Muszyna commune.
• The agreement between the Muszyna commune and PKL Zakopane was signed in 2023.
• However, work has not started yet because the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection has not approved the documentation, even though a year has passed since its submission.

Polskie Koleje Linowe is planning to build a Family Winter and Summer Recreation Complex Muszyna-Szczawnik-Wierchomla in the commune of Muszyna. This is a gigantic undertaking. In the tender procedure, the commune selected PKL Zakopane as a strategic partner for the implementation of this investment.

The agreement between Muszyna and PKL Zakopane was signed in mid-2023. Local governments and some residents had high hopes for the investment, but from the very beginning it raised concerns related to environmental protection.

The scope of the investment is very wide, including the construction of a gondola lift connecting Jaworzyna and Szczawnik.

The project will also include the construction of two modern detachable lifts, several drag lifts, children's conveyor belts, a snowtubing track, mountain carts and catering points. That's not all, because the next stage includes the construction of mountain bike trails and a gravity track. A water recreation reservoir and a viewing tower will also be built.

As the spa resort’s local government points out, Muszyna, Krynica-Zdrój and Piwniczna will thus gain one common ski resort and a summer recreational and tourist centre.

However, the work has not yet started. The Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection has not approved the documentation, even though a year has passed since it was submitted. As the Regional Directorate explains, the planned investment includes not only the ski lift and ski trails, but also new buildings that will house restaurants and equipment rentals. According to the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection, this will increase the impact on the environment, especially since wolves and lynxes live in the area - protected species.

Jan Golba, the mayor of Muszyna, argues, however, that the area is intended for ski lifts and the investment will interfere with nature to a minimal extent.

According to the mayor, the sluggishness of officials threatens not only investment delays, but also real losses.

Unfortunately, RDOŚ has not yet agreed on the report and is still extending the deadline for issuing the agreement. Postponing the agreement by several months means that this technologically advanced project (one of the most modern in Poland) will not be implemented this year.

- writes Jan Golba.

In his opinion, residents and entrepreneurs who have built hotels, guesthouses, lodgings, restaurants, inns and cafes have no chance of opening them and will suffer losses only because the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection is delaying the issuance of the final decision.

According to the mayor, PKL will also suffer huge losses as it will have to cover the costs of the increase in the prices of railways, facilities, equipment and parking.

On Friday, May 16, a group of residents of Szczawnik and other towns in the Muszyna commune protested at the headquarters of the Kraków Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection against "sluggish actions regarding the construction of the Family Recreation Complex in Szczawnik".