Large investors interested in land alongside highway and bypass – Business park at 10 ha

Large investors, such as companies "Ikea", "Coca-Cola", "Knauf" and "Delta", want to have factories and shopping malls built on the land alongside the highway. In spite of current financial crisis, they exert pressure on the City to change the General land-utilization plan and allow them to do business in Belgrade’s suburbs. These changes, which should be adopted by the City Parliament until summer, anticipate development of business parks at total of 800 ha of land.

The City Planning Institute has been under the pressure of the City and large companies for months, and they all want to see the General land-utilization plan changed as soon as possible. These changes would enable construction of factories, hotels and shopping malls at current agricultural land. In addition to aforementioned companies, the companies that already have their facilities in the city center and in Port “Beograd” are also interested in these changes.

Shopping centres along the highway

- They need spacious land and good connection with Airport "Nikola Tesla" and Railway station, and the locations alongside the highway are perfect for that. That is global trend as well. Those companies that already own facilities in Port "Beograd" want larger surfaces and locations that can be easily reached by their trucks, without traffic jams – says Žaklina Gligorijević, the CEO of the City Planning Institute.

The investors are interested in the parcels along the Belgrade bypass, Belgrade-Novi Sad highway, the Novi Sad road and the Batajnica road, which will be encompassed by the changes in the land-utilization plan.

As we found out, Swedish "Ikea", the furniture manufacturer, is interested in few locations in the vicinity of the airport and along the highway near Bubanj Potok.

- During the next few years, we want to have a department store built and to open a retail center similar to the ones from the world’s famous market chains. So far, we have not managed to find adequate location, but we believe in positive outcome. The City Planning Institute has been dealing with the complex process of transformation of agricultural land into building land for several years now, and we do not know for how much longer that process may last. It is for sure that the completion of that process in as short time as possible would have positive effect on inflow of direct foreign investments in the future period – says Dragan Skalušević, Regional Manager in company "Ikea".

"Knauf", which already has a facility in Zemun, would also like to buy a parcel next to the highway. “Delta” is interested in having another shopping mall built in the city suburb. People from this company confirmed their interest in the land along the highway. “Verano” wants a similar thing. This company already has the project for development of shopping mall alongside the Ibarska main route, 200 meters away from the Belgrade bypass. According to that project, the entire complex would occupy about 100 ha.

However, all these companies must first buy the land from “small owners” before they start construction. These parcels represented cheap land that nobody was interested in about ten or twenty years ago. Today, they are worth hundreds of thousands of euros.

Strict terms

Future business parks will occupy the surface of minimum 10 ha. Only 30% of the land can be covered by facilities, whle minimum 50% of land must be covered with greenery, water and sports surfaces. Maximum 10% of the land can be occupied by traffic surfaces within the park, and same percentage of land must be set aside for parking places.

- Small enterprises will hardly be able to meet these conditions. Our intention is to make it possible only for the most serious investors to buy the land along the highway, and then there is no doubt that the obligations towards the City would be met – Gligorijević explains.

There will be no residential area in the business parks, except for the needs of the service.

- They will have to meet high environmental standards. It is important that they employ people and that they do not pollute the environment – says the CEO of the City Planning Institute.

Once the changes in General land-utilization plan are adopted, the land organization programme will be made, which will be followed by the engagement of the Directorate for Building Land, which will be in charge of development of infrastructure.

Industrial zones and business parks

Belgrade has over 20 industrial parks and only one business park - "Airport City". Business parks are one step higher that the industrial zones, they can be situated in the city center and the business conditions in them are much stricter.

- Unlike industrial zones, the business parks must be equipped with complete infrastructure. Investors often buy cultivated fields in the industrial zones and they equip them by themselves – says Miroslav Čučković, a member of the City Council who is in charge of economy.

Conditions that must be met

-Minimum land size – 10 ha
-Minimum surface under protective greenery, water, park and sports-recreation contents - 50%
-Maximum land surface occupied by facilities - 30%
-Maximum percentage of land occupied by traffic surfaces - 10%
-Maximum land surface occupied by parking lots - 10%

(Note: the complete text is taken from newspaper "Blic" of January 26, 2009)