The Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure announced the issuance of a construction permit for the new Sava Bridge in Belgrade, as confirmed by Minister Goran Vesić. He stated that the next steps lie with the city government, which is responsible for removing the old bridge and commencing construction on the new one.
“We have issued the permit, and now it’s up to the City of Belgrade, specifically the Construction Land Directorate, to start the removal of the old bridge and the construction of the new one. The timeline for these actions will depend on the Directorate,” Vesić told Novosti, recalling that a decision for the bridge’s removal was made on September 19.
He addressed criticisms regarding the ministry’s failure to publish the removal decision in the Central Registry of the Unified Procedure, asserting that such publication was not mandated by law. “There have been various public criticisms about this not being published, but those claims stem from a misunderstanding of the law. Article 168 of the Law on Planning and Construction specifies that only the process of issuing a building permit is to be published, not the removal decision,” he explained.
The construction permit decision favors the Republic of Serbia and includes endorsements from the Government, the City of Belgrade, and various infrastructure entities such as EPS, EMS, and Telekom. The ministry confirmed that all legal conditions were met prior to the decision, and proof was obtained from the Ministry of Environmental Protection stating that an Environmental Impact Assessment Study was not required for this type of work.
Vesić highlighted that several years ago, an international architectural competition was held for the new bridge’s design, along with an environmental impact assessment study that was completed satisfactorily. “Now that the construction permit has been issued, we can move forward with building the new Sava Bridge,” he said.
He also noted that the City of Belgrade is responsible for organizing public transport during the removal of the old bridge and construction of the new one, and must communicate these plans to the public.
