Kanin, Slovenia's only true high-altitude ski resort, which was closed this winter after failing to extend its cable car permit, is reportedly eyed by a Serbian investor linked to the Jahorina resort in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The newspaper Delo reported on 26 April that government officials had been contacted on behalf of the Serbian company Trgovinsko preduzeće Ri-komerc Beograd by former Slovenian ski champion Bojan Križaj.

The paper quotes the Infrastructure Ministry as saying that Ri-komerc is also interested in investing in hospitality, golf courses, and an airport.

Located on the border with Italy, the Kanin resort is known for its abundance of natural snow but also perpetual problems due to the lack of investment in harsh conditions at altitudes above 2,000 metres.

Minister Alenka Bratušek told Delo that the government was not opposed such investments, having itself been looking for ways to keep the ski resort going.

But she referred the potential investors to the Bovec municipality, the owner of the slopes and infrastructure at the resort.

Municipal representatives are however not familiar with the case, while Križaj, who enjoyed near cult status as a skier in the 1980s before becoming a businessman, declined to comment.

The owner and director of Ri-komerc Beograd is Dejan Ljevnaić, since 2017 director of the heavily indebted Jahorina Olympic Centre, which is majority-owned by Republika Srpska, the Serb entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Križaj has been a frequent visitor to Jahorina for years, where he has also invested in a tourist resort, according to Delo.

Kanin, which is connected to the Sella Nevea ski resort on the Italian side of Mount Kanin, failed to get its cable car operating permit extended last autumn.

The cable car from Bovec was built in 1973 and renovated at the turn of the century but the municipality has failed to secure the dozens of millions of euros needed for a new one.

The resort's operator Sončni Kanin is still operational and has been looking after the maintenance of the ski lifts on the mountain, which were renovated with the help of EU and state funds a decade ago to allow the resort to start operating again in 2017 after an almost four-year hiatus.