Ukraine’s most ambitious ski resort project is rapidly shifting from concept to construction reality. GORO Mountain Resort in the Carpathian mountains has locked in two major European industry leaders in quick succession — and with a 2027 opening now confirmed on the resort’s official website, the project is no longer a long-term bet. It is slowly taking shape.
On June 8, GORO confirmed a €20 million contract with Austrian ropeway giant Doppelmayr Group to build the resort’s flagship gondola system, following a May agreement with snowmaking specialist Demaclenko for a fully automated €25 million snowmaking network. Together, the two systems form the backbone of what will become Ukraine’s first large-scale, internationally engineered, year-round mountain resort — part of a total strategic investment of $1.5 billion across a 15-year, three-phase development programme.
Where GORO Mountain Resort is Located
GORO is situated in western Ukraine’s Lviv region, near the villages of Volosyanka and Verkhnya Rozhanka in the Skole Beskids range of the Carpathian Mountains — 137 kilometres from Lviv city and 161 kilometres from the nearest Polish border crossing. The base elevation is 650 metres (2,130 feet), with the resort terrain rising into the forested Carpathian ridgelines above the Slavske valley. A railway station at Slavsko, five kilometres from the resort, provides direct connections to Vienna, Budapest, Kyiv, and other major cities.
The concept of a ski area here is not new. GORO is being built to replace and significantly upgrade the long-running Zakhar Berkut ski resort, which operated since 2005 before ceasing operations in March 2026 to allow for the installation of Ukraine’s first gondola lift and a full infrastructure overhaul.
Ukraine’s First Gondola — Doppelmayr Deal
The newly signed Doppelmayr contract covers a 2.8 kilometre (1.7 mile) gondola in its first stage — Ukraine’s first gondola lift — alongside two additional 1.5 kilometre (0.9 mile) chairlifts. Combined, these three lifts will provide a total uphill transport capacity of around 5,500 to 6,000 passengers per hour for peak winter ski operations.
The gondola will operate year-round, supporting skiing in winter and hiking, biking, and sightseeing in summer — central to GORO’s strategy to function as a four-season destination. OKKO Group executives describe the system as designed not just as transport infrastructure, but as part of the visitor experience itself, with panoramic cabins providing continuous mountain access.
100% Snow Coverage — Demaclenko Deal
The snowmaking system delivered by Demaclenko represents one of the most technically important parts of the project. The €25 million investment will give the resort 100% snow coverage of first-phase slopes through more than 150 snow guns operated via an automated centralised control system — guaranteeing more than 100 skiable days per season regardless of natural snowfall. The first phase covers approximately 50 hectares of snowmaking, with the full resort eventually reaching 345 hectares of snowmaking coverage at completion.
What GORO Will Look Like at Full Buildout
The first phase includes 13 kilometers (8 miles) of ski slopes. At full buildout across three phases and 15 years, GORO’s official specifications project 41 ski and bike trails totalling 75 kilometers (47 miles) of terrain, 25 hotels with 5,150 rooms, daily capacity for 13,000 guests and 25,000 skiers, and a total resort footprint of approximately 1,200 hectares. The $1.5 billion investment figure represents one of the largest private tourism infrastructure commitments in Ukrainian history.
According to GORO CEO Volodymyr Harazd, destination guests are expected to generate between $175 million and $300 million annually in on-site spending, with those expenditures designed to circulate across gastronomy, services, entertainment, and local production throughout the wider Slavske region rather than concentrating within the resort itself.
Construction Progress
Developer OKKO Group began physical construction at GORO in October 2024, starting with early earthworks in the Slavske valley. Since then, work has progressed through multiple phases of foundational development, with multi-level foundations taking shape for the central hub building that will eventually integrate ticketing, equipment rental, hospitality services, and lift access into a single arrival point.
Alongside construction, GORO has launched large-scale environmental programmes. In 2026 alone, the company reported planting 8,000 trees across 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres), with a broader long-term goal of one million trees planted across the Carpathians under a 15-year agreement with regional forestry partners.
Building During a War
Ukraine remains at war — a fact that cannot be ignored. However, GORO is located in the country’s far western Lviv region — more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the main eastern front lines and widely considered part of Ukraine’s more stable western corridor, where long-term infrastructure investment has continued throughout the conflict.
The scale of capital committed — €45 million in supplier contracts alone, against a $1.5 billion total project budget — reflects a long-term bet on Ukraine’s post-war tourism and economic recovery rather than current demand. The involvement of Doppelmayr and Demaclenko, two of the most reputable names in European ski infrastructure, gives the project a credibility that purely domestic announcements would not.
With lift contracts signed, snowmaking infrastructure locked in, and a 2027 opening confirmed on the resort’s official website, GORO is entering its most consequential build phase. For the Ukrainian ski industry — and for the broader Eastern European ski market — it represents a step change in ambition and capability — and a symbol of hope for peace.
