Following recent reports in the local Danish press that the famed CopenHill ski slope atop Copenhagen's Amager Bakke waste-to-energy plant could face temporary, or possibly permanent, closure due to unexpected wear and tear of its skiing surface, the operator of the BIG-designed attraction has now publicly denied the need to close.

CopenHill published a statement titled Facts about the ski surface on Amager Bakke: Of course we're not closing! on its website in which it acknowledges the faster than expected deterioration of the slope's surface fibers but assures that the damaged parts would be replaced soon without the need to close the slope.

"Yes, we experience that the steep part of the ski slope's surface wears faster than expected, and therefore, parts of the surface must be replaced," the statement reads. "When the ski base needs to be replaced, it is done in smaller areas at a time. It will therefore not go beyond opening hours, and you will continue to be able to ski in the areas that are not in the process of being replaced."

CopenHill operators pushed back against initial reporting from the Copenhagen Post which claimed that the 9.5 million Kroner ($1.5 million) repair of the slope had led to a dispute between the Amager Bakke Foundation and the Danish insurance company Tryg and reportedly resulted in a lengthy arbitration process.

Otto B. Christiansen, a board member of the Amager Bakke Foundation, compared the construction of a ski slope atop an incinerator in Copenhagen to the Opera in Sydney, itself a major engineering and construction challenged, but downplayed the seriousness of the situation. "It's very annoying, but no one else has tried to make such a ski slope, so we have had to try a little harder," Christiansen said. "We had not prepared for this to happen, but it is difficult to avoid when you try something for the first time."