Which Projects in Belgrade Are Being Postponed for Coming Years – Amendments to the Program of Development and Allocation of Building Land Before Members of the Parliament

The building of the Belgrade Center Rail Station, according to the announcements of those in charge, should open on October 20, but everybody who comes to this station will have to wait a few more years for access connections from the direction of the highway. For the project of the development of these traffic routes, for this year, RSD 6.7 million is planned, for next one, RSD 28.7 million, and it is only in 2025 that a considerably higher sum is to be set aside – RSD 458 million, according to the third amendments to the Program of Development and Allocation of Building Land for 2023, which will be put before the members of the City Assembly of Belgrade at the session scheduled for September 13.

Access connections to Prokop from the direction of the highway are not the only Belgrade infrastructure project which has been announced for years, and for which more concrete steps in the field will have to wait some more. One of them is also the traffic connection Borska-Lasta Interchange, and the amendments to the Program which will be put before the members of the city parliament envisage the setting aside of slightly over RSD 50 million for this year and the same amount for next one, whereas more substantial sums for this traffic project are planned only for 2025 – around RSD 640 million.

For the expansion of the pedestrian zone in Kneza Mihaila Street, which has been done in phases for years now, around RSD 140 million is planned for 2025, whereas for this year, around RSD 3 million is planned, and for next one, RSD 90.6 million.

For the development of the complex of the rail and bus station in New Belgrade (about which, several days ago, the mayor of Belgrade emphasized that he expected all the bus departures to be transferred there by January 1, 2024), for 2025, a sum of RSD 300 million is planned, whereas for 2023, the sum is RSD 36 million, and for next one, RSD 186.7 million.

On the other hand, one of the biggest expenditures this and next year, as expected, is still the equipping of the Makisko Polje location. For this purpose, for 2023, the amendments envisage around RSD 5 billion, and for next year, RSD 2.1 billion.

When it comes to the beginning of the construction of new facilities, for the jobs which concern the long announced new bridge in place of the Old Sava Bridge, for this year, RSD 17.1 million is planned, for next year, RSD 70.5 million, and for 2025, RSD 51 million. Things are slightly different when it comes to the pedestrian-cycling bridge on the Sava, for which preliminary designs were presented several years ago. This year, not one dinar is planned for it, whereas for 2024 and 2025, sums of RSD 70.2 million and RSD 90.5 million are planned.

For the construction of the de-leveled crossing of the Belgrade-Batajnica-Sid railroad and Umetnosti Blvd, for which a tender was opened several years ago, after which the contract with the selected bidder was terminated, RSD 100 million is planned for this year, RSD 500 million for next year, and RSD 244.5 million for 2025. Another thing drawing attention in the amendments to the Program is the expenditure for the coastal area within the Belgrade Waterfront project, that is, for traffic routes in the territory of New Belgrade. In the next years, the funds set aside for this purpose will increase successively – from this year’s RSD 68.4 million, through RSD 216.8 million in 2024, to RSD 391.5 million in 2025.

On the other hand, the reconstruction of Dragoslava Srejovica Street from Bogoslovija to Jovanke Radakovic Street will have to wait a little longer, because for this project, for this year, RSD 500,000 is set aside, for next year, RSD 161 million, and for 2025, RSD 305 million. The expansion of the network of bicycle lanes can also expect more substantial funds only in 2025, because around RSD 50 million is planned for that year, whereas for this and next one, the amount is much smaller.

All things considered, there will be no construction activities on the Slavija-Zicka stretch for a while either, because more substantial funds for the reconstruction and expansion of the driving lanes on this stretch are planned only for 2025, namely, RSD 106.5 million. In the past years, there have been plenty of announcements about the possible further expansion of the tram network, but after the tracks were laid down on the Ada Bridge, it seems that no new tram routes will be built soon. Again, it is only in 2025 that a more substantial sum is planned, RSD 205.8 million. The expansion of the trolley network is also mentioned in this item in this program, but that should be taken with a grain of salt, given that the further procurement of trolleys is very uncertain.

The items in the program indicate that the reconstruction and expansion of Kralja Aleksandra Blvd is not to take place any time soon either. The precondition for this is certainly the expropriation of a part of the facilities from the “Cvetkova pijaca” green market toward the periphery, because RSD 10 million is planned for this year and 2025 each, and RSD 68 million is planned for next year.

The contractor for the development of the bus-trolley terminal in Dunavska Street was selected a long time ago, but nothing is set aside for this project this or next year, whereas RSD 50 million is planned for 2025. It should be noted that, in the past years, the city has pointed out that the resolving of the property-legal relations is taking longer than expected.

The situation is different when it comes to setting aside funds for the tunnel from Karadjordjeva Street to the Sava Slope. The most money, around RSD 262 million, is planned for next year, whereas the funds for that project for this year and 2025 are much lower.

The reconstruction and rearrangement of Patrijarha Pavla Blvd is one of the reconstruction projects that have gone on far past the deadline for the completion of the works, but in the coming years, it will be an important financial item of the city, because RSD 1.2 billion is planned for 2024 and RSD 1.1 billion for 2015.

Next year, when it comes to financial expenditures, the focus will be on the development of the access to the Vinca landfill, because RSD 198.7 million will be set aside for those purposes in 2024, whereas RSD 120.6 million is planned for the development of a square in Lazarevac.

A considerable part of Belgrade is still not covered by a sewer and water network, and when it comes to the funds for these needs, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, one of the most important financial items will be the regional waterworks Makis-Mladenovac. The program plans RSD 2.2 billion for this year, RSD 3.8 billion for 2024 and RSD 700 million for 2025.

What’s also noticeable is that the program which will be put before the members of the parliament on Wednesday envisages no money in either 2023, 2024, or 2025, for the bridge on Ada Huja. It exists as an item in this program, but no money is set aside for that project. In the past years, the completion of the construction of the bridge on Ada Huja has been emphasized as the precondition for the beginning of a more detailed reconstruction of the Pancevo Bridge.

D. A.

Belgrade Center Rail Station

Prokop

Umetnosti Blvd

Lasta

Kneza Mihaila Street

Block 42

Makiško polje

Old Sava bridge

bridge on Ada Huja

Pančevo Bridge

Bogoslovija

Cvetkova pijaca

Dragoslava Srejovića Street

Partizanski put Street

Vinča landfill

squares

streets

traffic routes

tunnels

investment

projects

pedestrian zones

safety