Belgrade Issues Building Permit for Ušće Aquarium Amid Protests

Despite ongoing protests, Belgrade's Secretariat for Urbanism and Construction Affairs has granted a building permit for an aquarium at Ušće. The permit authorizes the investor, the Ministry of Finance, to commence preparatory work for the "Belgrade Aquarium" facility, which is planned to span 8,077 square meters with a basement and ground floor. Additionally, the secretariat approved Telekom Srbija's request for work to protect telecommunication infrastructure on the adjacent plot, with an estimated cost of over 188 million dinars. The aquarium project has been a focal point for public opposition, with protests occurring on the site, which has been fenced off since winter. Civil society organizations and neighborhood groups submitted objections during a public presentation of the urban project in January, expressing concern over the planned felling of hundreds of trees in Ušće Park to accommodate the aquarium and the adjacent Natural History Museum. Architect Branislav Mitrović has stated that trees will be transplanted, not felled, with around 30 mature trees to be moved and 199 new trees planted on the site. A petition titled "Save Ušće" has been launched, and public gatherings have highlighted a broader list of planned constructions in the "Friendship Park" area. These include a gondola connecting Ušće to Belgrade Fortress, the Natural History Museum, a Museum of the 21st Century, a steel walkway from Branko's Bridge to the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, an international port for an exhibition, a 120-meter-high flagpole, and multiple sewage pumping stations. Concerns have also been raised about unpublicized construction projects already underway near the Old Fairground. The planned developments have fueled significant public resistance, with activists and citizens questioning the scale and impact of the projects on the park's environment.

“

Ne bacajte novac na kolagen... Još jedan apel...