Member Article

News reports are informing us that Belgrade will gain another bridge over the Danube river in the near future – this one at the Ada Huja island and over three kilometres long. The basic purpose of this bridge will be to connect the Pančevo road with the Slanci road, according to the City officials. It is planned for the bridge to be built in four segments, as the initial documentation is expected to be finalised in early 2018 at the latest. According to the estimates made by the Belgrade Land Development Agency, the cost for the bridge – along with its access roads – will amount to approximately EUR 180 million. Furthermore, Ada Huja, an area that has been in the focus of urban planners for years now, has had its planned purpose changed numerous times, but it seems that trend will be changed with the introduction of the new Detailed Regulation Plan which encompasses nearly 300 hectares of its coastal area. Along with having the bridge built, the plan is for the entire Danube Wharf to be rearranged into a green belt, equipped with a sports and recreation center and with the possibility of having a smaller marina constructed within.

On the other hand, Milutin Folić, the City Architect, has recently been reported as saying that the bridge over Danube is only one of a number of infrastructural projects that are being developed by the City of Belgrade, including the expansion of Stari Savski bridge, the construction of a tunnel from Stari Savski bridge to the Despot Stefan Boulevard, as well as the construction of a tunnel from the Ada Bridge to Autokomanda. The total cost of these projects would amount to approximately EUR 400 million, and as such presents a significant obstacle at this point in time, having in mind the old debts that the city is still repaying. According to Folić, the city is currently looking at ways of procuring the necessary funds for the purpose of repaying these debts and obtaining new funds required for the completion of these projects.