Construction of aqua-park in Niska Banja - Lozni Kalem on auction block

Lozni kalem (Photo: juznevesti.com)

The Administration for Property and Inspection Affairs of Nis has announced a public call for sale of the location of Lozni Kalem in Niska Banja, which occupies the surface of 14 ha and is intended for the construction of a sports and recreation center with aqua-park and a series of contents aimed at improving the tourism offer of Nis and Niska Banja. The implementation of that project would also provide jobs for few hundred citizens. The auction is scheduled for December 6 and the starting price per square meter is RSD 780.

With the announcement of the public call, Lozni Kalem is, once again, in the focus of the public because the sale of that location also drew a great attention of the public three years ago. Smiljko Kostic, the Mayor at the time, declared the auction null and void after it was won by Zamad, the agent of an Italian company, and explained that decision by saying that the price of RSD 650 per square meter was - low. The city authorities wanted to announce a public call for the auction in early 2010, but the sale was postponed until December at the request of certain investors.

Milan Randjelovic, the Nis Assistant Mayor and the Director of the Office for Local and Economic Development, says that, according to the new Law on Planning, the period for construction of all contents in Lozni Kalem ranges between three and five years.

- An aqua-park with indoor and outdoor contents, as well as auxiliary facilities, is planned to be built in A2 block. The facilities of sports and recreational character, such as courts for mini sports and a tennis complex, are planned to be constructed in subsection A1. The lot B is reserves for a spa and wellness center with suites intended for medical tourism. In the section facing Niska Banja, a hotel complex with dependencies and, possibly, artificial lake is planned to be built. There will be a big park in the middle of that complex. The City of Nis is obliged to enable connection to the water supply and sewerage networks, as well as to provide the traffic infrastructure - says Randjelovic.

He adds that the whole lot occupies about 20 ha, but that the idea of construction of a residential quarter on six hectares has been abandoned. Every participant in the auction should pay the deposit in amount of about 11.5 million dinars as a guarantee that the job will be done well.