The Ministry of Finance received a building permit a few days ago for preparatory works which, according to the document, precede the construction of a public aquarium in Belgrade’s Ušće Park. These works have not yet begun, as the decision issuing the permit must first become legally binding. The preparatory works are expected to last one month.
“The permit was issued on 8 June 2026. An appeal may be lodged against this decision within eight days of its publication. After the completion of legally prescribed procedures and once the conditions for the start of works have been met, the preparatory works are expected to last approximately one month,” it is stated in a response provided to Forbes Serbia by Željko Čabarkapa, director of the Serbian branch of the Turkish company Ronesans.
The Ministry of Finance of Serbia directly contracted the construction of the public aquarium in Belgrade with the Ronesans Endustri Tesisleri Insaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi Company. Čabarkapa states that Ronesans will also be responsible for carrying out the preparatory works, which will be implemented in cooperation with a local subcontractor.
Aquarium in Ušće Park on a 15,400-square-metre plot
The public aquarium in Belgrade’s Ušće Park is planned on a 15,400-square-metre plot, located near the site where the former Hotel Jugoslavija once stood, which has since been demolished. The aquarium building is planned to be 10 metres high, with a basement and ground floor, according to the location conditions document issued in December.
The new structures are designed to be “invisible”, partially embedded in the ground. The value of the preparatory works is estimated at 188.9 million dinars.
2.8 billion dinars already spent
In 2025, 2.8 billion dinars from the Serbian state budget were spent on the aquarium project, according to budget execution data. In the 2026 budget, one billion dinars has been allocated for the project. According to current execution data, no funds had been spent by the end of April.
The Ministry of Finance, as the project investor, submitted a request in mid-May to the Belgrade Secretariat for Environmental Protection to determine whether an environmental impact assessment is required for the aquarium construction project.
Some activists and citizens have repeatedly protested against the construction of the aquarium, criticising, among other things, the occupation of green space and the planned felling of trees.
In information provided to the media in February by the architectural studio Mit-Arh, it was stated that 28 trees located in the construction zone would be “carefully” transplanted to suitable locations, and that the planting of 105 tall trees is planned.
(Forbes Serbia, 12.06.2026)