Transformation: Fears over waterfront plans deepened
Buildings knocked down to make way for riverside development
Witnesses quoted by local media said balaclava-wearing men tied up onlookers and took their mobile phones as bulldozers demolished the buildings, while police refused calls for help. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE
BELGRADE:
For 26 years, Vladimir Markovic ran his family transportation business in the heart of Belgrade’s Savamala district.
Then, two months ago, it was demolished without warning overnight.
His office was one of several buildings abruptly knocked down on April 24 by mysterious masked men, making way for a massive riverside development that aims to transform the Balkan city.
Authorities say the $3 billion project, led by Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills, will generate thousands of jobs and much-needed investment, as well as revamping rundown parts of the banks of the River Danube for public use.
The grand plans include the Western Balkans’ biggest shopping mall, a 200-metre-tall (656-feet) Dubai-style tower, high-end hotels, office blocks and luxury apartments.
But to opponents in the protest movement “Ne Davimo Beograd” (Don’t Drown Belgrade), the shady April demolitions epitomise all that is wrong with the scheme.
“For the last few years we have been trying to warn the public that what’s happening with the project is really done... in a non-democratic way and a corruptive, violent way,” said Ljubica Slavkovic, a leading protester and architect.
Witnesses quoted by local media said balaclava-wearing men tied up onlookers and took their mobile phones as bulldozers demolished the buildings, while police refused calls for help. Markovic said he was never contacted about his office being knocked down, then “all of a sudden we found rubble,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2016.
For 26 years, Vladimir Markovic ran his family transportation business in the heart of Belgrade’s Savamala district.
Then, two months ago, it was demolished without warning overnight.
His office was one of several buildings abruptly knocked down on April 24 by mysterious masked men, making way for a massive riverside development that aims to transform the Balkan city.
Authorities say the $3 billion project, led by Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills, will generate thousands of jobs and much-needed investment, as well as revamping rundown parts of the banks of the River Danube for public use.
The grand plans include the Western Balkans’ biggest shopping mall, a 200-metre-tall (656-feet) Dubai-style tower, high-end hotels, office blocks and luxury apartments.
But to opponents in the protest movement “Ne Davimo Beograd” (Don’t Drown Belgrade), the shady April demolitions epitomise all that is wrong with the scheme.
“For the last few years we have been trying to warn the public that what’s happening with the project is really done... in a non-democratic way and a corruptive, violent way,” said Ljubica Slavkovic, a leading protester and architect.
Witnesses quoted by local media said balaclava-wearing men tied up onlookers and took their mobile phones as bulldozers demolished the buildings, while police refused calls for help. Markovic said he was never contacted about his office being knocked down, then “all of a sudden we found rubble,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2016.