Kragujevac builds sports field near school without safety fence or project board

Construction of a small sports field has commenced next to the Gornja Sabanta branch of "Svetozar Marković" Elementary School in Kragujevac, Serbia. However, with the school year starting in about ten days, the site remains unfenced and lacks a crucial project information board, raising safety concerns.

Work on the field, which began on May 3rd, has progressed slowly. After nearly four months, the stone base layer is not yet complete. A small construction machine sits idle in the shade, and a basketball rests on the site of the future court. Local residents have observed the site, with some expressing dismay over the lack of progress and visible activity.

In May, Predrag Stevović, a member of Kragujevac's City Council for Sport and Youth, visited the site. He stated that the field would receive a new protective fence, a modern basketball hoop, and new goals for small-sided football after asphalting. However, he did not disclose the project's budget or the expected completion date.

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There's no way they will finish by the start of school, and the students will be endangered because there is no fence around the construction site. It's a real shame.

Residents are critical of the project's management and transparency. "There's no way they will finish by the start of school, and the students will be endangered because there is no fence around the construction site. It's a real shame," said Marija, a local resident. Another neighbor, Jelena, added, "It's truly too long, four months for what they have done so far. Someone would build a house up to the second floor in that time. Shameful." She also pointed out the absence of a board detailing the investor, supervisory body, and completion deadline, calling the project "Skadar na Sabanti" (a Serbian idiom for a project that takes too long and costs too much).

Questions sent to the Kragujevac city administration regarding the fencing timeline, costs, current phase, involved companies, and completion date remained unanswered by the time of reporting. Safety warnings for eye and face protection were visible on two blue barrels near the schoolyard.

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It's truly too long, four months for what they have done so far. Someone would build a house up to the second floor in that time. Shameful. [...] They are not even capable of providing water for the children at the school and fixing the fence, because drivers here drive maniacally on the road to Rekovac and Jagodina.