Lafarge Launches New Investment: EUR 110 Million Cement Plant Planned Near Obrenovac

Illustration (Photo: Pixabay.com/Life-Of-Pix)

The planned industrial complex will include a cement production facility in Ratari (municipality of Obrenovac) and a limestone quarry in the Jazovnik–Svileuva area, spanning the municipalities of Vladimirci and Koceljeva. The project is also expected to include a logistics link with the Nikola Tesla B Thermal Power Plant, with electrostatic precipitator ash from the plant to be used as a raw material.

According to the government decision, the objective of the Spatial Plan is to enable the development of this technological complex in line with sustainable development principles and spatial planning standards. The plan will provide a detailed layout of the production facility and supporting infrastructure, with particular attention to transportation, environmental compliance, and efficient resource utilization.

The defined planning area includes parts of the City of Belgrade (the Obrenovac municipality) as well as the municipalities of Vladimirci, Koceljeva, and Ub. The deadline for preparing the draft plan is 12 months, and the costs of its development will be fully covered by Lafarge BFC Serbia.

(Photo: Odluka o izradi Prostornog plana područja posebne namene)

The Spatial Planning and Urbanism Agency of the Republic of Serbia will lead the drafting process, with the obligation to obtain all necessary opinions and conditions from relevant institutions.

In accordance with Serbian law, the draft plan will be made available for public review for 30 days in all affected local municipalities. Additionally, the decision has been published in the Central Registry of Planning Documents.

This initiative lays the groundwork for a potentially significant investment in Serbia’s construction sector, utilizing secondary raw materials and environmentally sustainable technologies—aligned with national spatial development strategies and goals for sustainable industrial growth.

As previously announced in August last year, Lafarge BFC Serbia plans to open a facility in Obrenovac for producing cement from thermal power plant ash. In its first phase, the investment is projected to reach EUR 110 million, according to company director Dimitrije Knjeginjic.

Speaking at the time, Knjeginjic stated—according to a release by the Government of Serbia—that the project would benefit the Serbian economy and represent an ecologically sound solution by addressing ash disposal challenges.

“The goal of Lafarge BFC is to establish Obrenovac as a regional hub for Serbia and neighboring countries in the field of ash-based construction material production,” he said during a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević. The meeting also included Holcim Group Executive Miljan Gutović and focused on new developments in the construction materials sector.

I.Z.