Under the latest Draft Amendments to the Spatial Plan for the Special Purpose Area of the Belgrade Waterfront project, adopted by the Government late last year, the elite development is set to expand onto the left bank of the Sava. It will encompass the stretch of Novi Beograd’s waterfront from the Gazela Bridge to the Most na Adi bridge.
Instead of the originally envisaged 330 hectares of “newly occupied” land, developers will now target 347.22 hectares, without adequate solutions for sewage, roads, or green spaces, and lacking a Strategic Environmental Assessment for the project. Consequently, there will be no broader picture of the cumulative impact on the lives of over 200,000 current residents of Novi Beograd.
Organised under the Blokovski Zbor initiative and the Zajednička akcija – Blok 70 i 70a association, local residents aim to halt this expansion, building on their ongoing efforts to save the Sava embankment from urbanisation. This time, they are using the public inspection phase of the Draft Amendments to the Spatial Plan for the Belgrade Waterfront development, submitting individual objections ahead of the 28 August deadline and encouraging others to do the same.
“The plan introduces 558,000 square metres of new construction, around 8,900 new residents, and buildings up to 100 metres high – even though the planning document itself warns that the foul sewer system, for instance, lacks sufficient capacity,” says Branislav Tomić, an activist with the Za naš kej association. “Furthermore, the storm sewer system is already at full capacity, and there is a genuine risk of flooding in parts of Novi Beograd and Zemun,” Tomić adds, reflecting the widespread concerns of his fellow residents.
The consequences of “redeveloping” this new stretch of the waterfront could be severe: worse traffic congestion, increased noise and pollution, fewer green areas and natural soil, stronger urban heat islands, and extra pressure on Belgrade’s water source protection zone. “The future of the long-sought green corridor – a linear park that would connect the residential blocks to Ušće – is also hanging in the balance,” explains our interviewee when outlining the objections.
Concrete replacing green spaces
Anyone who has ever taken a stroll through this area knows it remains a green oasis, dotted with single- and two-storey houses in Blok 18 at the start of the zone covered by the spatial plan. Here, a mirror image of skyscrapers identical to the original Waterfront is set to rise (as reported by Radar back in July 2024).
The green spaces further along – stretching to the former car boot sale area, interspersed with warehouses, gravel yards, and concrete batching plants – will also be concreted over, contributing further to climate change. Most of these plots are owned by companies such as Yugoslav River Shipping (JRB), Mostogradnja, Ratko Mitrović, Zepter Shipyard, Comtrade, and others.
To transform this site into a new urban zone of residential and commercial complexes, these land parcels will have to be bought out from both corporate and individual owners.
On the flip side, the state stands to save money, whilst select investors will profit from intensifying development across the area, where building coverage ratios reach up to 50 per cent on some plots. The development will encroach even more aggressively underground, with subterranean coverage ratios reaching up to 80 per cent.
What about groundwater and drainage?
In this rush for expansion, little thought is being given to the issue of groundwater – a challenge Novi Beograd’s recent developers have struggled to manage. A clear example of this is the construction of the 240,000-square-metre luxury Danube Riverside complex on the site of the demolished Hotel Jugoslavija. Work on this Zemun seafront project, featuring two 155-metre towers and a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, began in July 2025. Yet 14 months later, construction remains stuck at ground level as engineers continue to battle with foundation work and geotechnical ground preparation, pumping out water continuously with industrial pumps.
The original Waterfront project faced similar hurdles: during its construction between 2016 and 2022, contractors from Millennium Team reported pumping out over 1.2 million cubic metres of groundwater. Both cases illustrate the challenging hydrological conditions of this low-lying land along the Sava.
Amid current heatwaves and air pollution concerns, environmental issues are drawing increased scrutiny. In contrast, under the draft plan to expand Belgrade Waterfront to the left bank of the Sava, the majority of planned greenery will not sit on natural soil, but will instead be planted on rooftop gardens and building terraces.
“Natural soil, which accounts for just 20 per cent of the area according to the planning documents, is essential for rainwater infiltration, supporting large trees, storing carbon, maintaining soil micro-organisms, and mitigating overheating. Rooftop gardens simply cannot replace these vital functions,” local resident groups warn.
They are equally dissatisfied with the proposal for 37.2 hectares of public green space, demanding upfront transparency regarding the size, continuity, proportion of natural soil, number of existing and planned mature trees, shading capacity, and connections to other green corridors. They also argue that rainwater infiltration capacity and public accessibility for existing – not just future – residents must be established in advance.
“Otherwise, we may end up with a percentage of green space that looks fine on paper, but is ecologically fragmented and functionally ineffective against climate pressures,” they stress. In their formal objections, they are calling for an independent microclimate study covering urban heat island effects, airflow, shading, night-time cooling, and climate resilience.
Furthermore, they demand a guaranteed minimum width for a continuous public green corridor along the Sava that cannot be re-zoned at a later date and will remain permanently accessible to the public.
Threat to Belgrade’s drinking water protection zone
Residents are particularly concerned about building over the inner (Zone II) sanitary protection zone of Belgrade’s water supply, where the proposed skyscrapers would stand. “Given the density of the planned construction and the scale of underground structures, we consider it essential to conduct an independent, cumulative hydrogeological impact assessment for the entire development, rather than evaluating individual buildings in isolation,” they insist.
Because Novi Beograd’s sandy riverbanks are prone to flooding – compounded by the poor drainage capacity of the existing network for storm- and groundwater – further complications are expected. As a result, community groups are calling for a cumulative flood risk assessment for Novi Beograd and Zemun, a danger the plan acknowledges only in principle.
To maintain natural breezes from the river that help alleviate high temperatures – which can be oppressive at night – the objections call for proper street orientation relative to prevailing winds, strategic placement of trees, and a review of the maximum allowable building height of 100 metres. They also argue that plot coverage ratios and the total floor area of all above-ground storeys within the planned urban zone must be re-evaluated.
For local residents, it is vital that any new construction be made conditional on the prior installation and full operational capability of key infrastructure, including the Ušće-nova sewage pumping station and the storm-water pumping station in Blok 18.
Before any building permits are granted, an assessment must also be made of the cumulative increase in PM emissions, nitrogen oxides, noise pollution, and traffic loads across the wider area – not just within the immediate footprint of the new development.
“We demand that all background studies used to draft this plan be made fully available for public review, and that new construction be permitted only after verifiable infrastructure and environmental conditions are met – rather than kicking the most critical issues down the road once construction is already underway,” states Tomić.
No repetition of the Waterfront model
A fundamental requirement for local residents is the immediate preparation of a Strategic Environmental Assessment that evaluates the cumulative impact on Novi Beograd as a whole. They are adamant that the new development must not alter the local microclimate, strain water and sewage networks by paving over porous ground that previously absorbed rainwater, or further congest local traffic – all of which have been proven outcomes of the first phase of Belgrade Waterfront.
“We are well aware that intense urban development is also planned for the area around the Belgrade Fairgrounds – the logical site for Expo 2027. Instead, the world expo is being built out in the Surčin fields, where an entire municipal infrastructure system is being constructed from scratch, allowing private investors to take over the existing Fair site with all utilities laid on for free,” says Tomić, criticising the authorities’ unfair treatment of ordinary citizens.
“To them, we are merely collateral damage in the enrichment of a favoured few, for whose benefit every plan – including the spatial plan currently in our sights – is tailored.”
(Radar, 28.08.2026)
https://radar.nova.rs/drustvo/beograd-na-vodi-se-siri-na-novi-beograd/