(AG Real Estate) THE RIVERSIDE AREAS IN BELGRADE – A CHALLENGE FOR BUILDERS

Cities in the region have encircled their central urban areas much before Belgrade whose city authorities still have a lot to do. The restitution, revitalization and adaptation of the city wholes, have been foreseen by the Master Plan which encompasses the period of time till the year 2021. However, it is absurd that the lack of the real urban policy during the previous years (even decades!), has its’ good sides, too. Belgrade has great development potentials due to the fact that for years there have been no right investments into the preparation of locations, but also because the most valuable areas have remained unused, especially in the areas by the river banks.

During the transition, we have on the market now locations which remained preserved due to the negligence of the previous years. Serious investors will know how to recognize the potential of those locations and how to make profit out of the investments!

A big inspiration, especially for young architects and other builders, but also a great challenge for foreign investors, represents the settlement for the riverside areas of Belgrade on both sides of the Danube and Sava rivers. Those areas spread over dozens of hectares of scarcely (or not at all) used space. With those areas, the Serbian capital can become the city of the future, says Mrs Slobodanka Prekajski, assistant director of Marketing and Information Department of the Land Development Public Agency. Not a single city will have such a modern riverside, because the foreign metropolises have already done this sort of work, much earlier.

Advantages of Sava's Amphitheatre

Mrs Prekajski emphasizes that the city has been trying to create such a strategy so that people living in Block 18a, right across the Sava Center, who are living mostly in illegal dwellings under poor hygienic conditions, can be provided with alternative locations where they could be moved. The City is seeing it as one of its highest problems and therefore priorities. New blocks of flats would therefore solve the problems not only of the people who live in these non-hygienic settlements, but also of all the other groups of people who live with similar problems here in Belgrade: young married couples who are unable to buy a flat, disabled, solitary mothers... Furthermore, by doing this, an exclusive construction area of about 4.7 hectares in the Block 18a in New Belgrade would be freed for further use. It would be possible to build up the Block 18a area independently from the works in the Sava Amphitheatre. There is already a strong interest of foreign investors for different types of construction works on this location, especially for the building of luxurious business buildings and premises.

The Port of Belgrade and the former shipyard „Tito“are two structures on the riverside that have already been privatized. The Land Development Public Agency expects that this area will also become interesting for the building of residential compounds by the riverside, missing commercial infrastructure, interesting business areas...

Certainly the building industry would have been more involved if only the question of land ownership would have been solved. Foreign investors, as well as the banks which are supposed to finance the construction works, have difficulties in understanding the term „99 years lease over the land“. The law procedures and months-long procedures of issuing the building permit represent objective difficulties because of which they still hesitate, although they are ready to invest.

The only solution to the problem of the locations status and the acceleration of their use would be the privatization of the building land and complete transparency and openness of the administration. The flaw of all the up-to-date information concerning the free building land in all bigger cities in Serbia, has been efficiently solved by giving ads about the land-lease and by putting relevant information on web-sites of the Land Development Public Agencies. The land-ownership question will have to be solved on the State level, because changes have to be incorporated in the new Constitution.

Investors' interest

On the web-site of the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency the whole range of locations for lease have been regularly advertised. They are mostly located in the area of New Belgrade and are basically meant for the business and living purposes. There is also a big interest in the building of large industrial and commercial complexes and shopping-malls, as well as exclusive residential settlements.

Locations for the construction of industrial complexes are usually located at the City entrance and exits, on the main highways. Belgrade Land Development Public Agency does own any land there.

Most frequently owners or bearers of cadastre registration of those locations are persons or former companies being state owned and not yet privatized. The Land Development Public Agency has financed the urban planning for the above mentioned highway direction, therefore enabling the investors to build legally, while ownership and other legal issues must be solved with others. The Agency is also in charge of the road and other infrastructure construction on these locations.

When choosing the location for luxurious residence, Dedinje area still has an advantage over other city areas, but there are plans for grandiose residential complexes on the other side of the city as well. A residential area called „Trudbenik“, situated on some 60 hectares between the Slanci Road and the Mirijevo Boulevard, is also planned. This area is also encompassed by the urban design.

On the River Banks of Danube

The City Master Plan till year 2021 includes plans to build and reconstruct even more of the left, Banat side of the Danube River. This side includes Krnjaca, Borca and Ovca settlements. Quiet an indicator of great potentials of the area represents the fact that big German company, Metro Cash & Carry, has chosen this side of Danube River for the location of its first mega market in Belgrade. This location has proven to be good for the rapid development of the industrial zone that spreads towards the town of Pancevo, along the Zrenjanin Road, because there are a growing number of structures which were scarce until now and which are necessary due to an increase of population in this area (according to official data the population is reaching over 300 000).

For the development of this part of Belgrade it is very important, to see an end to the construction of the accompanying sewage system on the Banat side of the Danube. Once the sewage problem is solved, the building and construction industry will be on the move. Of course, apart the sewage system, the problem of bridges needs also to be solved, because bridges are of vital interest for that part of the city. With the construction of at least one additional bridge over the Danube River, a whole range of various contents could be generated in its proximity. There are plans for the building of a city-center on the left river bank of the Danube, but it is necessary to perform some serious preliminary works before its construction. – said Mrs Prekajski.

In the immediate vicinity, instead of existing concrete and batching plants on Ada Huja, east of Pancevo bridge, the Master Plan includes a big center which would include all – commercial, social and residential structures. At this moment, at the Urban Planning Institute, the plans for a complete transformation of Ada Huja area are being made. Before starting to build, roads and infrastructure have to be defined as well as the ownership and legal matters which have to be solved adequately.

Vladimir Veličković